Japanese midfielder Shinji Ono has signed a two-year contract with the new Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League.
The Wanderers said Friday the 33-year-old Ono was granted a release from J-League side Shimizu S-Pulse to sign the marquee deal worth a reported $1.6 million.
He becomes the third major international recruit for the A-League in the past three weeks after Alessandro Del Piero joined Sydney FC and Emile Heskey moved to Newcastle.
Ono, the 2002 Asian footballer of the year, won a J-League and Asian Champions League title with Urawa Red Diamonds and the 2002 UEFA Cup with Feyenoord.
An attacking midfielder, Ono played 56 times for Japan and appeared in World Cup tournaments in 1998, 2002 and 2006. He is expected to arrive in Australia on Monday.
