Central Coast Mariners have sold star goalkeeper Mark Birighitti to Scottish Premiership club Dundee United for an undisclosed fee.
Birighitti’s move sees him join the Australian revolution in Scotland, where Ange Postecoglou (Celtic), Cam Devlin, Nathaniel Atkinson, Kye Rowles (all Hearts), Lewis Miller (Hibernian), Phillip Cancar (Livingston) and Keanu Baccus (St Mirren).
The 31-year-old Birighitti – who spent three seasons with the Mariners in the Isuzu UTE A-League season – heads back to Europe for the first time since 2018, when he made 16 Eredivisie appearances for Dutch outfit NAC Breda.
“This opportunity is too good for me to pass up, both for my career and for my wife to be closer to her family in the UK,” said Birighitti.
“The club tried everything to convince me to stay and Monty [Nick Montgomery] and Serg [Sergio Raimundo] couldn’t have done any more for me personally or for my family.
“At the end of the day, I have insisted the club accept this deal, to let me chase my dreams and do the best thing for my family. I’d like to thank the club and the fans for everything as they have been nothing short of amazing.
“If I end up back in Australia at any point, I won’t play for any other A League club, this is my home, but at this time, I need to take this opportunity and see where it takes me.”
Birighitti, who joined the Mariners from Melbourne City in 2019, won back-to-back A-League Men Goalkeeper of the Year awards in Gosford.
He was also named in the PFA A-League Team of the Season after helping the Mariners reach the Finals Series in 2020-21.
Birighitti joins Dundee United, who finished fourth last season behind Postecoglou’s champions Celtic.
Fellow Australians Curtis Good and Ryan McGowan have previously played for Dundee United.
“This is a decision that was made in the interest of Birighitti and his family and while disappointed, the club wishes Mark all the best for the rest of his football journey,” Central Coast said in a statement.
The Mariners added: “The Club can guarantee supporters that the search to find the right player to bolster our goalkeeper ranks is already well on the way.”
