One-club man Rhyan Grant named Sydney FC captain after 15 years in Sky Blue

Sydney FC’s long-serving fullback Rhyan Grant has been named captain as he heads into his seventeenth season with the Sky Blues.

Grant takes the armband after deputising under both Alex Wilkinson and most recently Luke Brattan, who departed the club at the end of the 2024/25 season.

The Canowindra-born right-back broke into Sydney’s first team from the youth side in 2008 and slowly became a staple of the Sky Blues after many injury-laden years.

The 33-year-old spoke of the “honour” of captaining the club he’s spent his entire career at, winning almost everything there is on offer.

“This is a massive honour and privilege.

“This is the next step for me in my career and I feel very honoured to be named captain.”

Manager Ufuk Talay praised Grant as embodying the club’s values, with the 21-time Socceroo spending his entire career at the Harbour City club.

“Rhyan embodies the values and the culture of this club, and I think he is at a stage of his career where he deserves the armband.

“I think he will honour and cherish that leadership role within the team,” Talay told the club website.

Extremely popular with the fans and a fierce competitor, the club icon taking the armband was a natural progression for both him and the club — Grant has been there for almost all of Sydney’s history.

Grant has made a club-record 339 appearances for the Sky Blues, while scoring 18 goals - including two memorable strikes in Grand Finals.

The defender has gained a new lease on life under manager Talay, with his arrival coinciding with Grant’s resurgence in form as he became one of the senior-most members of the squad.

Grant begins his tenure as the club’s ninth permanent captain in Victoria as the Sky Blues play Oakleigh Cannons on Tuesday in the Australia Cup Round of 32. Sydney are the current holders of the competition after a 3-1 triumph over Brisbane Roar in last October’s final.