Perth Glory is delighted to confirm that experienced Matildas midfielder Ella Mastrantonio has signed a two-year contract with the club.
The 30-year-old returns to her hometown club having made 56 W-League appearances during three previous stints in purple between 2008 and 2010, 2011 and 2014 and 2015 and 2016.
Having spent the last two years in Europe representing English club Bristol City and Italian side Lazio, she is now excited at the prospect of re-joining the Liberty A-League.
“I’m very happy to have signed back at home with Perth Glory,” she said.
“Speaking with [Head Coach] Alex Epakis and people around the club, there is a very good vision and plan for the women’s football department which I’m excited to be a part of.
“Coupled with the announcement of the season being extended and more teams coming in, the club is heading in the right direction, especially in the lead up to the Women’s World Cup next year.
“I’m excited for the coming season!”
Epakis, meanwhile, believes that the signing of Mastrantonio represents a major coup for the club.
“Securing Ella for the next two ALW seasons is a phenomenal outcome,” he said.
“Ella is a very proud West Australian who has accumulated some very extensive experience across European competition and national team activity over recent years.
“She is returning to Glory with experience and hunger and is determined to do well and enjoy success with her hometown club.
“Her ability and experience as a top-level player is clear.
“She is very technical, has the ability to start many attacks from deep areas, is a great ball winner and has a strong presence. “There is no doubt she will bring a lot of value to the squad and I am eager to see her contribute positively to our already strong foundations.”
Glory CEO Tony Pignata is similarly confident that Mastrantonio will prove to be a key addition.
“Signing a player of Ella’s class, experience and pedigree is fantastic for the club and I’m sure our Members and fans will be thrilled,” he said.
“She will further bolster the excellent squad which Alex has worked very hard to assemble and we look forward to seeing her back in a Glory shirt for the next two seasons.”
Born in Fremantle, Mastrantonio made her senior debut for Glory while still a teenager in 2009, having been part of the Australia squad which had won the AFF Women’s Championship in Vietnam the previous year.
The following decade saw her split a further two spells at Glory with three at Melbourne Victory and she claimed a Premiership title with the navy-and-whites in 2018/19.
After spending the 2019-20 campaign at Western Sydney Wanderers, the gifted midfielder moved to England to join Bristol City and the following year, was recruited by Lazio.
At international level, meanwhile, she has seven Matildas caps to her name and wore the green and gold as recently as last year.
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