Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
George Clarke

Socceroos' No.1 Ryan seals Dutch move

Socceroos No.1 Mat Ryan has joined Dutch top-flight club AZ Alkmaar on an 18-month deal. (Jeremy Ng/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

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 into the last 16 of the Europa Conference League, after a stint at FC Copenhagen which lasted just six games.

The 30-year-old had been 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 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."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.