{"id":324283,"date":"2025-01-17T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/?p=324283"},"modified":"2025-01-17T15:00:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T02:00:23","slug":"al-taay-leaves-the-nix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/al-taay-leaves-the-nix\/","title":{"rendered":"Al-Taay leaves the Nix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Wellington Phoenix have released Mo Al-Taay from the remainder of his contract to allow him to return home to his family in Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iraq international made 38 appearances for the Phoenix in all competitions after joining the club in July 2023.

Al-Taay, 24, played an influential role in the Nix\u2019s record-breaking 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League season, featuring in all but two of the team\u2019s matches and starting 17 of them.

The midfielder was rewarded with a maiden call-up to the Iraq national team in May last year and has been capped three times in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – FEBRUARY 15: Mohamed Al-Taay in action during a Wellington Phoenix A-League Player Signing Announcement & Training Session at NZCIS on February 15, 2024 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Phoenix director of football Shaun Gill has thanked Al-Taay for his contribution to the club over the past one and a half years.

\u201cMo was a key member of the men\u2019s midfield last season and came agonisingly close to helping the Nix secure its first major trophy,\u201d Gill said.

\u201cWe\u2019re sad to see him go, but family comes first.

\u201cWe wish Mo all the very best for his footballing future and hope he\u2019s part of just the second Iraq team to play at a FIFA World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 18: Mohamed Al-Taay of the Phoenix takes on Bernardo of the Bulls during the A-League Men round 17 match between Macarthur FC and Wellington Phoenix at Campbelltown Stadium, on February 18, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mo Al-Taay looks back on the past one and a half years in Wellington with fondness.

\u201cI am grateful for my time at the Nix and the season we had last year,\u201d Al-Taay said.

\u201cI would like to thank the fans for their support throughout my time at the club.

\u201cI wish everyone at the club all the best for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":254,"featured_media":324284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,330,356,343,349],"tags":[],"competition":[],"acf":{"match_card_embed_league":null,"match_card_embed_club":null,"match_card_embed_match":false,"match_card_embed_disable":true,"auto_publish_updates":true,"reference_article":null,"article_featured_video":"","article_featured_video_tagline":"","article_byline":"","article_media_type":"news","article_video":"","gallery":"","shared_ffa_source":"keepup","shared_hide_in_app":false,"article_player":"","article_team":"","article_competition":"","article_match":"","credit":"","related_articles":"","push_to_social":false,"priority":1,"sport":false,"language":"en","private_content":false,"access_level":"","article_id":"","app_featured_image":null,"article_content_group":"news"},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/al-taay-leaves-the-nix\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Al-Taay leaves the Nix","url":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/al-taay-leaves-the-nix\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/al-taay-leaves-the-nix\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/Departure_MO_Web.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/Departure_MO_Web.png"},"articleSection":"Breaking News","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"brenton"}],"creator":["brenton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wellington Phoenix","logo":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2022\/04\/cropped-Wellington_Phoenix_FC_logo-2.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-01-17T02:00:00Z","datePublished":"2025-01-17T02:00:00Z","dateModified":"2025-01-17T02:00:23Z"},"rendered":"