Ex-Victory skipper axed by Saudi club

FORMER Melbourne Victory skipper Mark Milligan is on the hunt for a club after he was axed by Saudi Professional League side Al-Ahli.

The 32-year-old impressed in all three group matches of the Socceroos’ recent World Cup campaign, but had his contract abruptly ended by the Jeddah-based club yesterday.

“Al-Ahli terminated the contracts of Giannis Fetfatzidis, Mark Milligan, Claudemir, and Leonardo,” the club said via its official account.

“Al-Ahli president thanked the chairman of the General Authority of Sports, his excellency Turki AlSheikh, for his continuous support to the club.”

Milligan made eight Pro League appearances for the club.

His last match was in May in the second leg of an AFC Champions League round of 16 fixture against Qatari club Al-Sadd.

Al-Ahli finished runners- up to Al-Hilal in the 2017-18 Saudi Pro League.

Milligan made his way to the Saudi club in the January transfer window when the Victory reluctantly agreed to let the midfielder go.

“We obviously did everything we could to keep him, but Mark was adamant this was an opportunity he wanted to take up,” coach Kevin Muscat said at the time.

The Victory went on to defeat Newcastle 1-0 in the ALeague grand final.