Alexander Robertson: The Aussie teenager set for Man City deal

Aussie teen Alexander Robertson has the world at his feet and a contract with Manchester City on the table.

Alexander Robertson at Maroubra Beach in Sydney. He is about to sign a long-term deal with Manchester City. Picture: John Feder

Alexander Robertson is sitting in a cafe in Maroubra, the sun belting down on the sands of the nearby beach.

Born and raised in the area, he looks towards the water occasionally, but the 15-year-old is really only interested in the object at his feet — a World Cup ball given to him by family friend Steven Lowy, former Football Federation Australia chairman.

As he rolls it backwards and forwards, young Alex is very much at ease, even if it is his first face-to-face media interview.

Most kids would be happy knowing they had the world at their feet. Robertson is, after all, living the dream and on the verge of signing a four-year deal with English giants Manchester City. He could also find himself involved in a four-way international tug o’ war.

Robertson, who is part of Australian football royalty — his grandfather Alex and father Mark had great careers in club football here and overseas and both played for Australia — has been back in his old stomping ground, albeit for a fleeting visit, before venturing back to England to resume what many believe will be an exciting career in professional football.

He has made the most of his time here, catching up with family and friends, but he can’t wait to finalise the deal with City, where he has spent the last couple of years in their academy under the watchful eye of his agent, former Liverpool great Michael Owen, and some of the best coaches in the world.

“It is exciting, unbelievable,” Robertson says matter-of-factly. “There’s some details to be sorted but I’ll be signing a scholarship deal for the first year then moving to a full-time professional contract. It’s been a dream of mine to play for a Premier League side, now the rest is up to me.

“City is a great club. They look after you so well and I am loving every minute of it.”

Of his relationship with Owen, Robertson says he has to pinch himself sometimes to think that someone of his stature is looking after his interests. “He is a Ballon d’Or winner, played for Liverpool, England, Manchester United and Real Madrid … he has done so much in the game,” Robertson says. “We have a great relationship. He is more a mentor than my agent. He teaches me a lot about football and life in general.”

A central midfielder, he has been a regular with the City under 16s and has been such a standout that he has earned several caps for England’s under-15, scoring in the final of a tournament in Turkey last year when he was 14.

He is eligible for England thanks to his residency status and schooling but was born and bred in Australia. His grandfather was born in Scotland, meaning he could play for the Scots, while his Peruvian mother means he could also be tied to the South Americans should he choose.

But whether he sticks with England, or pledges his future to Australia, or elsewhere, is far too early to say. The Socceroos are well aware of his capabilities with coach Graham Arnold inviting him to one of their camps last year — an invitation he had to turn down because of injury.

“I can play for England, Scotland, Australia or Peru … but it doesn’t matter at the moment. I just want to play football,” he says. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it, because there is still plenty of time.”

Mark is in awe of what his son has been able to achieve so far but is mindful of the pitfalls of football in Europe. Alex started out at Manchester United before City got under their guard.

“People sit back and watch the EPL, La Liga, et cetera but they don’t comprehend what needs to be put in at that level,” Robertson senior says. “I went over to Europe as a 19-year-old and it was sink or swim. He went as a 12-year-old trying to get respect because no one takes Australian soccer seriously.

“As a kid trying to interact with people in a really brutal world of football over there can be daunting. But he has taken it all in his stride. It was difficult to leave United because they were fantastic, but I take responsibility for that because it didn’t happen the way we envisaged it would even though the likes of Nicky Butt, Michael Carrick loved him as a player.”