Record number of off-contract A-League players are up for grabs this season

ALMOST two-thirds of players in the A-League are coming off contract this season, as short-term deals increasingly become the norm for Australian players. See the full list of off-contract players.

Sydney FC’s Milos Ninkovic contract is running up. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

ALMOST two-thirds of players in the A-League are coming off contract this season, as short-term deals increasingly become the norm for Australian players.

The off-contract list distributed to A-League clubs reveals the full extent of players signed only until the end of May, amounting to 63.2 per cent of players in the league — a record level.

The figure compares with 53 per cent last season and the previous high of 55.8 per cent in 2014-15, prompting claims that the rise in one-year contracts is leading to equally unprecedented levels of “extreme anxiety” among players.

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Sydney FC’s Milos Ninkovic contract is running up. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

Perhaps most shockingly, Perth Glory have 21 players off contract this season, easily the league’s highest. The next highest is Brisbane with 16 players off contract, followed by both Melbourne clubs on 16 apiece.

The lowest is 13 at both Sydney clubs, though wider squad changes are likely at Western Sydney when new head coach Josep Gombau remodels his roster in the off season and potentially before then in January.

The overall list includes marquees such as Milos Ninkovic, Bobo and Alvaro Cejudo, but also large numbers of younger players on much lower salaries.

Wanderers coach Josep Gombau clearly has some work to do. Picture: Brett Costello

Though the figure of 63.2 per cent is slightly inflated by the number of one-year deals given to older players — with 77 per cent of players aged over 30 on such a deal — the overall numbers also reveal that almost 60 per cent of players aged from 23-29 are coming off contract, as are 53 per cent of contracted teenagers.

The latter, aged between under 16 to 20, earn between $14,000-$34,000 under the A-League’s collective bargaining agreement.

The short-termism is confirmed by the revelation that 42 per cent of players on average over the past two seasons were in their first year at an A-League club.

As The Daily Telegraph reported in January, that figure is higher than the “Big Five” leagues in Europe.

The players’ association, Professional Footballers Australia, believes clubs are increasingly opting for short-term deals partly in response to uncertainty over the future growth of the A-League.

“The player churn should be a concern for the entire industry,” said PFA CEO John Didulica. “The level of contractual stability is high even by global standards, notwithstanding the fact that clubs are obliged to have a player roster that is at least 75 per cent Australian.

“This level of churn hinders high performance and player development, and extreme anxiety is a consistent theme in our surveys of players. This inefficiency must also put a strain on already limited club resources.

“In this context, we need to urgently look at the impact of the current salary cap and create a model where players and clubs are incentivised to develop long term relationships. This type of connection sits at the heart of a successful competition.”

OFF-CONTRACT PLAYERS IN 2018

SYDNEY FC

Alex Brosque, Jordy Buijs, David Carney, Deyvison Rogerio Da Silva, Charles Lokolo Ngoy, Milos Ninkovic, Andrew Redmayne, Matthew Simon, Alex Wilkinson, Michael Zullo, Christopher Zuvela, Anthony Kalik (on-loan).

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WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Jonathan Aspropotamitis, Alvaro Cejudo Carmona, Jack Clisby, Robert Cornthwaite, Vedran Janjetovic, Jumpei Kusukami, Raul Llorente Raposo, Steven Lustica, Jacob Melling, Brendon Santalab, Nicholas Suman, Michael Thwaite, Jerrad Tyson.

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS

Kwabena Appiah-Kubi, Harry Ascroft, Josh Bingham, Antony Golec, Ben Kennedy, Jake McGing, Felix Asdruval Padron Hernandez, Connor Pain, Adam Pearce, Blake Powell, Joshua Rose, Liam Rose, Kye Rowles, Thomas Glover (on-loan).

NEWCASTLE JETS

Daniel Alessi, Nigel Boogaard, Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Devante Clut, Nicholas Cowburn, Jack Duncan, Jason Hoffman, Benjamin Kantarovski, Mark Moric, Glen Moss, Andrew Nabbout, Ivan Necevski, Kosta Petratos, Ronald Alejandro Vargas Aranguren.

MELBOURNE VICTORY

Leroy George, Joshua Hope, Cameron McGilp, Mark Milligan, Stefan Nigro, Matias Sanchez, Christian Theoharous, Lawrence Thomas, Carl Valeri, Pierce Waring, Kenjok Athiu (on-loan).

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PERTH GLORY

Diego Castro Gimenez, Joel Chianese, Nicholas Feely, Alexander Grant, Andreu Guerao Mayoral, Chris Harold, Jacob Italiano, Joseph Knowles, Shane Lowry, Joseph Mills, Mitche Nichols, Liam Reddy, Daniel Stynes, Adam Taggart, Callum Timmins, Xavier Torres Buigues, Riley Warland, Marc Warren, Brandon Wilson.

ADELAIDE UNITED

Johan Absalonsen, Tarek Elrich, Jordan Elsey, Benjamin Garuccio, Ryan Kitto, Nathan Konstandopoulos, Vince Lia, Karim Matmour, Nikola Mileusnic, Mark Ochieng, Jordan O’Doherty, Isaac Richards, Ryan Strain, Ersan Gulum (on-loan).

BRISBANE ROAR

Fahid Ben Khalfallah, Daniel Bowles, Corey Brown, Nicholas D’Agostino, Ivan Franjic, Corey Gameiro, Jack Hingert, Brett Holman, Massimo Maccarone, Emilio Martinez, Matthew McKay, Jade North, Connor O’Toole, Mitchell Oxborrow, Jacob Pepper, Petros Skapetis, Michael Theo, Brendan White, Jamie Young.

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MELBOURNE CITY

Daniel Arzani, Marcelo Carrusca, Braedyn Crowley, James Delianov, Nick Fitzgerald, Michael Jakobsen, Bruce Kamau, Neil Kilkenny, Osama Malik, Emmanuel Muscat, Ruon Tongyik, Fernando Brandan (on-loan), Luke Brattan (on-loan), Stefan Mauk (on-loan), Ross McCormack (on-loan).

WELLINGTON PHOENIX

Scott Galloway, Lewis Italiano, Andrija Kaluderovic, Roy Krishna, James McGarry, Michael McGlinchey, Daniel Mullen, Goran Paracki, Matthew Ridenton, Logan Rogerson, Marco Rossi, Alex Rufer, Dario Vidosic.