The Australia midfielder Jason Culina is set to become his country's highest-paid footballer after signing a three-year deal worth A$3.6 million (Dh9.3m) with the A-League's newest club Gold Coast United. The 28-year-old will see out the remaining five months of his contract with PSV Eindhoven before returning home for the start of the new season. The Dutch champions had also offered Culina a new three-year deal, which he admitted was hard to resist. "PSV is a great club and I felt flattered when they offered me a contract extension, but I had already made up my mind to return to Australia," said Culina, who was also linked with a move to Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. Gold Coast have been pursuing Culina for months to be their marquee player and captain for their debut season in the A-League. "I want to make a fresh start and I am ready for a new challenge," he said on PSV's website. "I am the first international who returns to Australia and I am keen to promote the national competition and raise the standard. "Players have returned to Australia from Europe before, but that was usually at the end of their careers. "I will be 29 when we return. That's why I was anxious to complete a three-year deal."
Culina, who has been capped 36 times for the Socceroos, denied his return to Australia was at the insistence of his family. "On the contrary. My wife loves life in the Netherlands and she feels at home here. She wanted me to stay with PSV, but I decided to follow my heart," he said. "I spent 10 years in Holland and I'm looking forward to the new challenge." *PA Sport