Players continue to depart Melbourne City following A-League grand final disaster

There will be a host of new faces at Melbourne City next season, with many stars from the 2022-23 campaign having left the A-League club.

Richard van der Venne has left Melbourne City. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

The exodus from Melbourne City continues, with foreign pair Richard van der Venne and Thomas Lam the latest players to part ways with the losing A-League grand finalists.

City, who were thrashed 6-1 by Central Coast Mariners in the recent decider despite dominating the regular season for the third successive year, face an off-season of change as they look to rebuild a decimated squad under coach Rado Vidosic.

Having already announced the departures of midfielders Valon Berisha and Aiden O’Neill, goalkeepers Thomas Glover and Matthew Sutton, left-back Jordan Bos, attacker Raphael Borges Rodrigues and defender Kerrin Stokes, City have also lost the services of van der Venne and Lam – despite them both having a year of their contracts to run.

Dutch midfielder van der Venne’s family has found it difficult to settle in Melbourne, while Netherlands-born Finland international defender Lam also wants to return to Europe with his pregnant partner.

“Thomas is a fantastic guy, and he did so well for us,” Vidosic said.

“Richard’s wife was homesick and she didn’t want to stay here anymore.

“They both contributed really well for us. Richard was a bit injured and it cost him some game time but in the middle part of the season, he really showed Australia what he’s capable of doing.

“I think both of them wanted to stay because they enjoyed it enormously but it was a family decision more than their own decision.”

Thomas Lam has parted ways with Melbourne City. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The City future of another member of City’s foreign brigade, Frenchman Florin Berenguer, is also uncertain

Vidosic is keen for the out-of-contract 34-year-old playmaker to sign a new deal but he’s yet to give the club answer.

“He needs to speak to his family because he’s been here for five years now” the City coach said.

Marco Tilio’s City future is also uncertain, with Vidosic saying a “lot” of overseas club were showing interest in the Olyroos and Socceroos winger.

Regardless of what would transpire with Tilio and Berenguer, Vidosic envisaged City signing “eight or nine” new players ahead of next season.

Among the new faces at the club will be former Brisbane Roar and Western United keeper Jamie Young and ex-Newcastle Jets, Western Sydney Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix midfielder Steven Ugarkovic.

“It’s a fresh start for a lot of players,” he said.

“It’s not going to be too hard to motivate the team for next season.

“When you bring some new foreigners in, they bring some new qualities. There are some Socceroos players we have that are staying, there are a few young boys that we are going to promote, so it’s going to be exciting, we’re going to have good depth and quality, and I’m quite positive that we are going to challenge for a spot in the top four next season.

“How far we can go, we’ll have to wait to see, but we’re going to make our supporters proud again.

“The way we lost the grand final is still hurting. We had one bad at the office. We had a lot of good days.”

Originally published as Players continue to depart Melbourne City following A-League grand final disaster