Chilean international Pablo Contreras has been poached by Melbourne Victory to become their Marquee player. Contreras leaves behind Greek Superleague team Olympiakos. He signed to the team for the 2012/13 season and has played 17 games and represented the team in the Champions League and Europa League.
The 35-year-old has made 67 appearances for his country, including playing at the FIFA World Cup.
Melbourne Victory Coach Ange Postecoglou said Contreras would be an extremely valuable addition to his squad.
“We are thrilled to welcome Pablo to Melbourne Victory and there’s great excitement around what he can bring to the club,” Postecoglou said.
“Pablo is a high quality central defender who will be an important part of our journey towards an A-League Championship, and, hopefully, our upcoming Asian Champions League campaign.”
Contreras follows on from former Victory stars Rody Vargas and Marco Rojas as the latest pin-up for Australia’s Chilean community.
He arrived in Melbourne last night and begun training today with his new teammates.
He will then head to Tasmania with the rest of the squad for the club’s pre-season camp and friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday, September 29.