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Defender completes transfer for reported fee of 20m euros ($33m)Ten Australian players have now made post-World Cup movesYoung Socceroo Alessandro Circati has become the latest Australian international to be snapped up in a money-spinning European transfer, as he hailed his move from Parma to Benfica as a “privilege”.Following Lucas Herrington’s move from the MLS to become Australia’s only Premier League player at Hull City, and Nestory Irankunda joining Benfica’s great rivals Sporting from Watford, Circati has been signed by the Portuguese giants for a reported 20m euros ($33m).With Nishan Velupillay’s move from Melbourne Victory to third-tier German club FC Ingolstadt 04 also completed on Wednesday, World Cup Socceroos are clearly the flavour of the month, with other reports linking top clubs with Norwich striker Mohamed Touré.Circati’s move from the Italian top-flight Serie A to Portugal’s Primeira Liga has been in the pipeline for a while, with the 22-year-old having signed a five-year contract through to 2031 with the Lisbon-based double European champions.“To all the Benfiquistas, yeah, I can’t wait to play in front of you all, and win as many titles as we can. It’s a huge honour. It’s a privilege. I’m over the moon, couldn’t be happier,” said Circati in a message to the fans on the club’s website.“I think it’s a reward for many years of hard work. I’m so happy to be here, and I can’t wait to play for Benfica.”The Italian-born Circati will play at the world-famous Estadio da Luz – the Stadium of Light – and sounded just a little awe-struck as he added: “I can’t wait. I’ve just had a look at it now. It’s amazing, and I’m very, very excited to play.”Asked about adapting quickly to his move, he said: “I think I’m very adaptable. I think you can play me in either role of the centre-back, in a back-four or a back-three.“I’m sure it’s going to take a bit of time to adapt, but I’ll try and make it as fast as possible with the help of my teammates and staff. But I’m sure I’ll fit in just fine.”Circati came through the ranks at Perth Glory and, after completing a trial with Parma in 2021, returned to his Italian roots to join them, has made swift and impressive progress in Serie A, last year being a standout for the northern club as they finished 12th.Circati also played in all four of the Socceroos’ World Cup matches, with 17 international appearances now under his belt and one goal to his name.Parma paid tribute to his time at the club in a statement. “Alessandro made a total of 96 appearances for Parma, including 37 in Serie A, scoring two goals and playing a key role not only in the club’s 2023/24 Serie B title triumph but also in securing survival over the following two seasons,” a statement read.“President Kyle J Krause, CEO Federico Cherubini and the entire Parma Calcio family would like to sincerely thank Alessandro and wish him every success in the next chapter of his career.”

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Forward says One Nation leader’s comments made him ‘emotional’Players upset ‘because there’s so many young blokes that look up to us’Pauline Hanson’s claims that the national men’s football team represented a monocultural Australia angered many Socceroos during this year’s World Cup, Nestory Irankunda has said.The One Nation leader’s comments came a week after the team beat Turkey in their opening match of the group stage at the tournament in North America.After her National Press Club speech, in which she declared Australia cannot be multicultural and must exist as a “monocultural society”, Hanson hit back at claims the team would not have won the game under her policy. She said: “The Socceroos represent my vision of a monocultural Australia.”But Irankunda, the forward who scored Australia’s first goal of the tournament during the match in Vancouver, said many Socceroos disagreed with her comments.“It did make a lot of us boys angry – I won’t lie,” he ABC radio on Wednesday. “I felt a bit emotional but then tried to forget about it.“I always tell people I’m Australian, and it really did upset me, and it upset a lot of the other boys to see things and hear things like that, especially because there’s so many young blokes that look up to us.”The 20-year-old, who moved to Portuguese champions Sporting CP for a reported fee of up to $32m following his World Cup success, was born in a Tanzanian refugee camp to Burundian parents.Fellow Socceroo Awer Mabil was born in a Kenyan refugee camp to South Sudanese parents and was named Young Australian of the Year in 2023.After the team was knocked out of the World Cup, Mabil hit back at Hanson’s suggestion Australia was not a multicultural society, calling her claims “bullshit”.Earlier in the tournament, Australian players released a video embracing the team’s migrant roots, in which midfielder Jackson Irvine said: “The Socceroos aren’t just a team, we are a reflection of modern Australia.”“There’s people like me and Awer, Mohamed Touré that go out there … and try to do the right thing, and we do, do the right thing,” Irankunda said.“I don’t like how they try and put us in the whole same category as the other people that do bad.”Asked if he would speak with the One Nation senator, the 20-year-old poured cold water on the suggestion.“I’m still upset about some of the things she said in the past,” he said. “I’m not someone who likes to jump into controversial things or political stuff, but you never know – one day I could be on the phone with her or sitting in an office chatting.”

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OFC’s 11 votes could prove crucial in Fifa electionStance shows continued backing from smaller nationsThe Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has declared their support for Gianni Infantino following demands for the Fifa president to resign from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation in a development that further highlights world football’s civil war.After a meeting of its executive committee in Fiji on Wednesday, the OFC issued a statement on Friday praising “the progress achieved over the last decade” by Fifa in its first public comments since the abandoned World Cup sell-off plan emerged this month.In another sign of division however, the OFC’s biggest member and only nation to qualify for this summer’s World Cup, New Zealand, broke ranks with the confederation by withdrawing their backing for Infantino and calling for an independent review of the Fifa Forward Enterprise plan, which has been demanded by the three rebel groups.The OFC is the smallest confederation in world football with just 11 full members, but with Infantino facing a leadership challenge for the first time in a decade at next year’s presidential election those votes could prove crucial.Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC provide 143 of Fifa’s 211 members, but powerful countries within those blocks most notably Mexico and Qatar have already made it clear that they still support Infantino, while others may also defy the orders of their confederation.The OFC is the last confederation to declare its position and their stance completes the symbolic division of world football, with the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and South American confederation (Conmebol) also backing Infantino.In addition their stance illustrates the continued backing for Infantino among smaller nations such as American Samoa and the Cook Islands, which is likely to emerge as a theme of the presidential election.“The OFC Executive Committee welcomes Fifa’s decision to withdraw the FFE (Fifa Forward Enterprise) proposal and its commitment to review the issues surrounding the project,” the OFC said in a statement.“OFC recognises the progress achieved over the last decade in advancing football development in Oceania under Fifa’s leadership and encourages Fifa to use the review as an opportunity to identify and implement any changes that may be necessary.”The OFC has repeatedly declined to answer questions from the Guardian on its position over the last fortnight, and delayed releasing a statement until two days after its ExCo meeting.New Zealand’s decision to break ranks goes some way towards explaining their reticence to commit in a move that has added significance given the federation have benefited from Infantino’s leadership of Fifa as co-hosts of the 2023 Women’s World Cup with Australia.“After careful consideration, New Zealand Football has formed the view that decisions and actions within Fifa have contributed to a breakdown in trust and increased division within international football, and that an independent review is required to restore confidence and trust,” NZF said in a statement.“NZF believes this point in time represents an opportunity for all Fifa member associations to advocate for stronger governance, accountability and transparency which are fundamental in maintaining confidence of the administration of the global game.”The NZF chief executive, Andrew Pragnell, said that their decision to withdraw support from Infantino was based on their values.“Everyone who’s connected to the game around the globe deserves to know where we stand,” he said. “New Zealand is a country that’s always led based on its values, and we’re really proud to put those first and put the fans and the football community first, because I think right now there are some pretty strong calls for change.“There are an incredible group of hard-working professionals at that organisation who’ve been amazing to work with and actually our thoughts are with them at this time, because it’s a difficult time for them to be in this situation as well, and that’s concerning for us.“So, while we reflect on a lot of positives that have come out of the organisation, ultimately, this type of proposal should never have emerged in the way it did.”