The Wellington Phoenix have retained a top performer from their historic A-League campaign with striker Kosta Barbarouses committing to another season in the capital.
The club today announced Barbarouses has signed a further one season deal at the Nix, with the option to stay on for an additional season.
The striker played a key part of the Phoenix’s 2023-24 season, scoring 13 goals to help them to a second place finish for the first time in the club's history.
Barbarouses' signature was greatly desired by other A-League clubs but the Kiwi has opted to stay in New Zealand.
“I weighed up everything and decided Wellington is by far the best place for me to be,” said Barbarouses.
“Obviously we had our best ever year as a club and it’s probably no surprise after the season we had there was a fair bit of interest in me.”
Barbarouses had to step up in Polish striker Oskar Zawada’s absence, who was kept sidelined for most of the season due to injury, and was one of the Nix’s best outlets for his goal scoring ability.
The 34-year-old is eyeing up the possibility of making the 2026 World Cup to be held in North America.
“I’ve still got big aspirations to do something special here and to play at a good level heading into the 2026 World Cup. That’s a big goal for me.”
Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano said he’s thrilled to have Barbarouses for at least one more season.
“One more year here with a possibility of another year will get him to the 2026 World Cup. His goal is to get in that squad, and we want to support him to get there.”
Italiano said a lot of the young players in the squad look up to Barbarouses.
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“On the park, his numbers do all the talking, but what he does off the pitch when it comes to leadership and how he keeps a good vibe in the team is also very, very important for us,” said Italiano.
Italiano currently has 18 players contracted for the 2024-25 A-League season, with discussions continuing with other off-contract players.
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