Rhyan Grant has declared he wants to play for Sydney FC into his late 30s after signing a two-year contract extension to remain with the A-League Men club.
The Sky Blues' games record-holder, with 328 appearances across all competitions, Grant will be 35 and 18 years into his career at the club by the time his new deal expires in 2026.
The extension comes as the decorated defender thrives under new coach Ufuk Talay, who replaced club great Steve Corica early in the season.
Talay named Grant his replacement captain for last weekend's Sydney derby, which regular skipper Luke Brattan missed through suspension.
Grant scored his 18th career goal for Sydney, and second in the space of a month, during the 4-1 shellacking of Western Sydney.
The 33-year-old has played in all but one game of the current campaign, helping the Sky Blues recover from a slow start to sit in fifth spot on the table through 19 rounds.
"How we play suits my game, where you can be on the front foot and on the throat of the opposition," he said.
"I love the way we are playing and the vision for the club is a major factor of why I wanted to stay."
Grant, a 21-cap Socceroo, fell out of national calculations during Australia's push to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
The veteran admitted doubts had crept in at times as his career had progressed.
"As you get older, you question if you’re good enough and if the club wants you," he said.
"I’ve got a family too and you’ve got to weigh up a lot of options, but my priority was always to stay in Sydney; and if the club were happy to have me, I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else."
But now, Grant hopes to prolong his career well into the future and will celebrate his new deal when Sydney hosts Brisbane Roar this Sunday.
"This contract will take me to 35, so I’ll have to see how the body feels," he said.
"Hopefully, I can play for a couple of years afterwards, but I definitely want to retire a one-club man."
