Sydney FC star Bobo confident of signing new contract after A-League grand final

SYDNEY FC marquee striker Bobo has hinted he will remain at the club, with contract negotiations expected to be wrapped up after Sunday’s grand final.

Bobo celebrates scoring for Sydney FC.

SYDNEY FC marquee striker Bobo has hinted he will remain at the club for another season, with contract negotiations expected to be wrapped up after Sunday’s grand final.

The 32-year-old has been influential for the Sky Blues in their record-breaking season, top-scoring for the club with 15 goals, assisting in four more and appearing in every match of their A-League campaign.

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All five of Sydney’s foreign players - Bobo, Milos Ninkovic, Filip Holosko, Jordy Buijs and Milos Dimitrijevic — are off contract at the end of the season and coach Graham Arnold has previously indicated he hopes to keep them all in a bid to retain the core of his record-breaking squad.

Bobo celebrates with his family after Sydney FC were awarded the Premier’s Plate at Allianz Stadium. Picture: Mark Evans

The club could hardly ask for more from Bobo, with the Brazilian centre-forward enjoying a particularly strong second half of the season after becoming more accustomed to the conditions and pitches in Australia.

Bobo, who has played for Besiktas, Gremio and Corinthians, has enjoyed his first season with Sydney and is likely to sign on as the club’s marquee again with talks expected to be finalised soon.

“I hope to stay next season,” he said. “I think maybe this week or next week we will finish the contract negotiations.

Bobo's shot is saved by Liam Reddy during Sydney’s win over Perth in the A-League semi-final at Allianz Stadium. Picture: Mark Evans

“We have a good team this season, we did well.”

The Sky Blues picked up all the major gongs at Monday night’s Dolan Warren Medal, with Milos Ninkovic named taking home the Johnny Warren medal and Graham Arnold named coach of the year, but the biggest prize will be beating Melbourne Victory on Sunday to add the Championship trophy to their Premier’s Plate.

The last time the two teams met in a grand final was in Melbourne two years ago, when Sydney were comprehensively beaten 3-0. This time, though, Sydney are at home and have beaten every team this season. They’ve also triumphed over Victory in each of the last three occasions the teams have met.

Sydney FC star Bobo and partner Raquel Strutz at the Dolan Warren Awards on Monday. Picture: AAP

After playing in Europe for the majority of his career, Bobo says playing in a finals series is “different”, but he says the team is enjoying a good, long build up to the game and they’re focused on winning just one more match.

“It’s going well. We have five days for preparation and we’ll be ready,” he said.

“You need to stay strong at home and win one more game.”

Originally published as Sydney FC star Bobo confident of signing new contract after A-League grand final