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Melbourne Victory star Nishan Velupillay has become the latest World Cup Socceroo to be snapped up by a European club after completing a transfer to Germany’s FC Ingolstadt. After seven years representing his boyhood club in Melbourne, ending up with 141 senior appearances and 25 goals, Victory saluted their departing forward on Wednesday night, hailing Velupillay as “one of our own”. Ingolstadt – currently competing in the German third tier – signed Velupillay for an undisclosed fee with a year remaining on his contract as the 25-year-old becomes just the second player to join the club after Socceroos veteran Mathew Leckie. “I’m really looking forward to the new challenge in Germany and at FC Ingolstadt 04,” he said. “After my years at Melbourne Victory, the time was right for me to take the next step. “I’ve heard many good things about the club and want to help the team with my playing style and experience. I can’t wait to get started in Ingolstadt.” Ingolstadt are in 3.Liga, but have demonstrated they’re an innovative club after hiring Sabrina Wittmann, who became the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions following her appointment in 2024. “Nishan has already impressively demonstrated his potential in Australia. The fact that he played his way into the Australian national team and most recently featured at the World Cup, the biggest international football stage, speaks volumes about his quality,” said Coordinator of Squad Planning and Scouting Rigo Hof. “We see him as a player who gives us additional flexibility in attack with his style of play and fits our team very well. We are delighted that we were able to sign him for FC Ingolstadt 04.” There will doubtless be disappointment, though, at losing the services of a 25-year-old whose rise from being a Victory graduate had taken him all the way to the World Cup in North America, where he played in two matches. A Melburnian who was the first person of Tamil heritage to play at a World Cup, Velupillay made his A-League debut against Sydney FC in 2021. He’s become a favourite there, lifting the Australia Cup and reaching consecutive A-League grand finals in 2024 and 2025, before going on to captain the side in an Original Rivalry fixture versus Adelaide United. Vellupillay is the 10th player from the Socceroos’ World Cup squad to make a close-season move, with Australian internationals seemingly flavour of the last couple of months. Velupillay sent an emotional message to the club, saying: “I want to thank everyone connected with Melbourne Victory for making me the person that I am today. “The coaches and staff have helped me develop and excel; my teammates have inspired and pushed me; and the members and fans have given me more support than I could ever have imagined. “Playing for the club, who I have always supported, in the city I call home, has been a huge honour, and I will be following Victory wherever I go.” The club’s director of football John Didulica added: “We are so proud of the journey that Nish has been on with Melbourne Victory – from being part of our junior set-up to playing NPL3 to starting for the Socceroos at a FIFA World Cup. “Everyone at the Club is obviously very close to Nish, and it is clear that he has earned the right, through his contribution to Victory over many years and his emergence with the Socceroos, to experience European football and live that dream. “I remember Nish scoring the winner at Hindmarsh in 2021, which was his first ever goal for the Club and the way his face lit up, and he instinctively ran to the away bay with the Victory fans. “We knew that night we had a player, but we also knew that we had someone who cared deeply about Victory.”