Kosta Barbarouses has officially signed for Sydney FC, joining from fierce A-League rivals Melbourne Victory.

The Kiwi international joins the Sky Blues on a three-year deal which will keep him at the club until June 2022.

Barbarouses was thrilled to be signing with the reigning A-League champions and was full of praise for the club.

“I’m very happy to be signing for Sydney FC as it’s a club I’ve heard so many great things about,” he said.

“They’ve had some extraordinary success in recent times and I want to be here to help continue that.

“I’ve no doubt this is a special organisation to be a part of with incredible values and a club first, family culture mentality.”

Barbarouses said his decision to move north was a simple one and cannot wait to get started in a new city.

“As soon as I found out that a great club like Sydney wants me to play for them it was a really easy decision and I was really eager to get here,” he said.

“I want to win trophies and I want to play a big part in a big team and this is exactly what it is.”

The signing will add another dimension to the Big Blue between two of the A-Leagues biggest clubs.

Barbarouses expects to cop some stick from the Victory faithful but is hopeful that most people will ultimately understand his decision.

“It was a tough decision to leave in general but that’s football, it happens,” he said.

“I’ve had good success there, the fans have treated me really well.

“There’s going to be some backlash to that but I think most people will understand that I’ve moved on to a really great club that I’m excited to join and I’m sure they will carry on signing great players to replace me.”

Damon Palmar
damon@footballnationradio.com