A frustrated Perth Glory has sensationally lost contracted Tunisian midfielder Salim Khelifi to a rival A-League team for the rest of the season – a move, the club claims, driven by Australian Professional Leagues (APL).
The 11th-placed Glory, who have been without a private owner for six months, on Friday night confirmed Khelifi’s departure – subject to medical and international clearance – for the remainder of the A-League campaign, but claimed it’d been instructed by the APL to accept the rival club’s loan offer.
The West Australian reported Khelifi is poised to join the undefeated Melbourne Victory, who sit second on the ladder with six wins and seven draws.
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Khelifi, who arrived at the Glory in 2022 then signed a contract extension until the end of 2025, has played 10 games so far this season.
Glory chief executive Anthony Radich said his club was disappointed, but added there was little the Glory could do.
“I want to make it very clear to all our members, club partners and fans that this decision is neither the will, nor the want of the club,” Radich said.
“It is a direct consequence of our inherited financial legacy, but that said, the outcome is still a very difficult one to accept on many levels.
“We understand the disappointment that this will bring to all our key stakeholders and furthermore, the significant impact it will have upon Alen Stajcic and his team (who have been incredibly stoic and resilient) as they look to drive forward into the second half of the season.”
The Glory have been under the leadership of the APL since July after they were forced into receivership. In November, they were on the verge of a highly-touted sale to a consortium led by Melbourne-based property group Primeland, only for it to spectacularly collapse as the group had failed to satisfy key elements of the deal.
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Perth has been barred from signing any new players until it finds a new owner, meaning it’ll be unable to replace star winger Khelifi.
“This is a challenging time for the club, but we remain hopeful of a resolution to our ownership situation in the very near future and are deeply appreciative of our loyal and passionate Glory family for their ongoing support,” Radich said.
It comes days after the APL announced an “organisational restructure” that led to mass redundancies.
The APL earlier this week said it needed to “create efficiencies through consolidation” as poor crowds continue to be a problem for the men’s and women’s competitions.
“In the three years since unbundling (with Football Australia), APL has implemented a strategy that has seen a period of rapid growth across our business,” an APL statement said.
“With the original three-year strategy coming to an end, a planned full strategic and commercial review has taken place over the last several months.
“The review has identified significant opportunities to create efficiencies through consolidation and this necessitates an organisational restructure that is now underway.
“APL’s priorities remain the same – to deliver commercial growth and sustainability by creating the most exciting competitions possible for our fans – with strong teams producing great young players across Australia and New Zealand.”
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