Melbourne City have added another high-profile name to their ranks, with the signing of the former Fulham midfielder Damien Duff.
"We're excited to have a player of Damien's quality and experience for this season. We believe he can offer international standard quality on the pitch and will also be a great professional example for our younger players," the Melbourne City coach, John van 't Schip, said.
"His career speaks for itself. He has achieved almost everything at club level and has been a great player at an international level too.
He comes to us straight from the English Premier League with Fulham, so he has been playing at the highest level against top teams and top players.
"When we met with Damien, he was excited about the opportunity here and keen to work with us to help make this project a success."
Duff has signed a one-year contract that will take him through to the end of the 2014-15 A-League season. At the age of 35, Duff will bring huge experience to the City squad.
He won two Premier League titles with Chelsea and played at the 2002 World Cup and 2012 European Championships with Ireland, whom he represented 100 times.
Duff, who signed after a spell at Fulham, will be joined by Spain international David Villa for a portion of next season. His new club have been able to add huge pulling power since their takeover by Manchester City, one of the richest teams in the world.
Melbourne City also confirmed they have extended the deals of two of their young players, Benjamin Garuccio and Stefan Mauk. "Ben and Stef have worked hard for us and are two of the A-League's exciting young players," Van't Schip said.
"We hope these players will learn a lot from the likes of Damien both on and off the pitch about what it takes to perform at the highest level as a professional footballer."
Duff's signing is unlikely to be the end of City's business deals before the new season starts.
They have room for five more players in their 23 man squad. Duff is the club's third "Visa" player, with the club able to sign two more, as well as an international marquee. Marquee players are exempt from the salary cap.