Matildas midfielder Alex Chidiac says that laying down roots at Melbourne Victory and signing a two-and-a-half-year deal was a "no-brainer" decision after some challenging times abroad, saying that that there is a perception gap between the A-League Women's quality and many of its overseas rivals.
Chidiac, 24, returned for her third stint at the Jeff Hopkins-coached Victory on Saturday, coming off the bench in a 2-0 loss to the Western Sydney Wanderers hours after her deal tying her to the club until the end of the 2025-26 season was confirmed.
Clubs in the United States and England had also expressed an interest in the playmaker's signature but after a lack of consistent football defined her recent time spent with Racing Louisville and on loan at Mexican side Tigres UNAL, the esteem she was held in at Victory, combined with the chance to re-connect with her "purpose" in Melbourne, won out.
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"You can kind of just look at the past two seasons that I've had with Melbourne Victory and it's a bit of a no-brainer," Chidiac told ESPN. "I feel like I've played my best football under Jeff and with the girls at this club.
"I was just a little bit tired of constantly moving from club to club. I've been at three different clubs this season and the most time I've played is with Victory.
"And have more things outside of football as well... I find when I'm here in Melbourne I've got a purpose each and every day there's more than just football here. And all those things that I have outside of football help me and my performances on the pitch. It was to be the best version of myself."
But while the A-League Women is undoubtedly where Chidiac has played her best football in recent years, including winning last season's Julie Dolan Medal as the league's best player, committing years of her prime to the league could be seen as a risk to her national team aspirations.
In the wake of superstars such as Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, and Ellie Carpenter all moving to Europe, Australian players were encouraged to seek out moves abroad during the 2023 Women's World Cup cycle, with coach Tony Gustavsson often citing the need for players to put themselves in elite environments.
But while the trend of players striking out abroad has continued post-World Cup, the A-League Women has expanded to a full home-and-away season in 2023-24, with more expansion on the way.
Matildas' stalwarts such as Lydia Williams have returned to the competition while retaining their spot in the national side, joining the likes of Elise Kellond-Knight, Kyah Simon, and Chloe Logarzo in the competition. World Cup hero Cortnee Vine, for her part, never left.
And with stints in Spain, Japan, the United States and Mexico to contrast, Chidiac believes that while the A-League Women can't compete with the upper echelon of international sides, the professionalism, labour protections, support, and facilities on offer can match or beat overseas clubs whose name recognition, often from the men's game, boosts their reputation.
"I grew up watching the Premier League, the men, and you just see what they have and you kind of think, oh, yeah, the women would have that," she said. "You don't think of anything else. You see a big name like Atlético in my case, and I figured I'd get the same as the men. And it was just very much not the case.
"It's still developing everywhere and we have a lot better than what we think we do in Australia.
"I'm now fully committed for the next two and a half seasons to just being in Australia. I think I need that mentally as well, just have a bit of that mental break, stop being on planes and living out of a suitcase.
"I think it was the right decision that I made to go over to the U.S. because I don't think I would have had a shot at the national team if I didn't. Because there was a bit of that perception that I wasn't a very physical player.
"But I'm now choosing enjoyment more so than kind of the perception of either one or two coaches out there.
"I really just want to get as many games as I possibly can because I love what I do. I don't want to be waking up each day not wanting to go to training, I want to be excited like I have been this past week.
"I'm getting here even earlier so I can spend more time here and it's just really nice to have that feeling back again."