This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic has quit the A-League club just a week out from the start of the new season.

After five seasons at the Wanderers, Popovic confirmed his resignation on Sunday and will join Turkish club Karabukspor.

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“Today is a very difficult day to announce my departure from the Western Sydney Wanderers,” said Popovic. “The timing is not great and you don’t plan these things. It has come up very recently.

“This was certainly not planned and I understand the timing. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. There’s always speculation and this opportunity is in a league that is in Europe and I want an opportunity to coach in Europe.”

Popovic’s current contract was due to run until the end of the 2017-18 season after re-signing for three years in mid-2015.

The 44-year-old was the Wanderers’ first coach when they entered the A-League in 2012, and guided them to consecutive grand final appearances in their first two seasons of existence.

Popovic also steered his side to a famous win in the Asian Champions League final in 2014, earning him the AFC coach of the year award.

At about that time, Popovic was linked with a job at Premier League club Crystal Palace, where he played over 100 games. He also reportedly rejected a move to Chinese powerhouse Shanghai Shenhua late last year.

Following a poor season in 2014-15 in which Western Sydney finished ninth, they bounced back with another grand final appearance in 2015-16 but again fell short in a 3-1 loss to Adelaide United.

Wanderers CEO John Tsatsimas said: “It’s all about timing and it’s very fast. I wish nothing but the best for Tony.”

Western Sydney host Perth in round one of the new A-League season next Sunday.