Sydney FC now has the trifecta. First it signed triple World Cup winning German Pierre Littbarski as coach, then movie-star Anthony LaPaglia added some Hollywood glitz by becoming a director of the football club, and on Sunday former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke agreed to play with the team.
The two-year deal is subject to a fitness test but Sydney FC chief executive officer Andy Harper said it was a mere formality with the 33-year-old Trinidad and Tobago national due to start with the team on July 31.
The hunt for Yorke was prolonged and well-publicised, but Harper said hope was never exhausted as signing the out-of-favour Birmingham City player was a major key to giving Sydney FC a competitive edge in a town fanatical about rugby league, AFL and rugby union.
Glamour status is also a surety ahead of the kick-off for the inaugural A-League national competition in August, with Melbourne Victory the only club to have signed a marquee player so far.
But with Yorke's party boy antics well known, questions remain as to the off-field ramifications of such a signing.
Making a raunchy video with several women and Australian friend and former Manchester United teammate Mark Bosnich - who in 2003 was sacked by Chelsea after testing positive for cocaine - is among the tales of Yorke's off-field antics.
But Harper said Sydney FC would make sure Yorke - who has netted over 130 goals for Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and City over the past 15 years - conducted himself professionally.
"He's here to play football," Harper said when asked if the off-field reputation of Yorke was an issue in the negotiation process.
"He's been targeted, people have made comments about what he does outside of football but Sydney FC is interested in Dwight Yorke as a footballer and will make sure that he conducts himself as a professional footballer the way he needs to.
"He will fit into the team discipline, the way every player on the roster does. He doesn't expect anything different."
Harper would not go into the commercial details of Yorke's contract, but said it was less than the reported $4 million offer Yorke was made from Qatar in the Middle East.
"We couldn't come at that [but] I've got no idea what the Middle East were offering him except that it was more than what we were," he said.
"It is a commercial arrangement between the club and its staff so it is completely confidential."
Under Football Federation Australia (FFA) rules each A-League club is allowed one stand-out marquee player outside the $1.5 million salary cap.
The sky, or the budget, is the limit when it comes to paying the player, with some predicting they could earn six times that of their teammates.
Harper said a final clincher in Yorke's decision to head south was the wave of publicity and support he received from fans during his three-day visit last month.
"The response he got from the media and the fans and the general awareness of Dwight Yorke in the Sydney market I think impressed him," Harper said.
"He was coming into a market that gave the impression it was ready to go and I think he quite likes the idea of him being at the forefront of that push."
Meanwhile, Sydney FC is on a three-match tour of Dubai and today had a 1-0 win against local side Al Ain.
AAP