Socceroos captain Mat Ryan has brought an end to his eventful spell in Denmark by inking an 18-month contract with Dutch top-flight side AZ Alkmaar.
Ryan joins AZ, who sit fifth in the Eredivisie and are in the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, after a stint at FC Copenhagen which lasted just six games.
The 30-year-old was involved in an often spiteful battle with Poland’s Kamil Grabara for billing as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper.
After Ryan’s mistake led to Argentina’s second goal in the Socceroos’ 2-1 World Cup round-of-16 loss last year, Grabara sarcastically tweeted that it “must have been politics” keeping the Australian keeper out of the Copenhagen side.
Ryan has struggled for consistent game time since leaving English Premier League side Brighton in 2021 for stints with Arsenal, Spain’s Real Sociedad and Copenhagen.
But after taking AZ’s No.1 shirt, the 79-cap Australia international hopes to make an immediate impact.
“It’s a really good club with a lot of ambition and it’s really exciting,” Ryan told AZ’s club website.
“It’s a new chapter, (there’s) the excitement of not knowing what’s about to unfold.
“Being ambitious, you dream of achieving (at) the highest of the heights and here at AZ where circumstances lie in the league, in European football and the domestic cup there’s a lot to play for.
“I’m confident that I can come here and contribute to the team and (help achieve) the goals that we have.”
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