Aaron Frank Mooy (; ; born 15 September 1990) is an Australian former professional soccer player who primarily played as a midfielder.
He is considered to be one of the great Australian midfielders and one of the best players to represent Huddersfield Town since the turn of the millennium. Mooy was voted PFA Footballer of the Year a record three times, consecutively, and was nominated for the 2017 Asian Footballer of the Year award. He was named in the A-League Men Team of the Season twice, and was named in the PFA Team of the Year and EFL Team of the Season once. He was voted and named in Australia's Team of the Century.
Born in Sydney, Mooy made his professional debut with St Mirren in 2010 before returning to Australia with Western Sydney Wanderers, winning the A-League Premiers' title in their inaugural season. However, after inconsistent playing time, he left for Melbourne City and moved to sister team Manchester City in 2016. Mooy was immediately loaned to Huddersfield, achieving promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history. He signed a permanent deal the following season. After his second season at the club ended with their relegation in the summer of 2020, Mooy was loaned out to Brighton, to whom he transferred permanently in January 2021.
The same year, he then agreed a transfer deal to the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Port but was released due to the COVID outbreak. He joined Celtic in July 2022, being a key part in their 8th treble, winning the Scottish Premiership, Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup before retiring in June 2023.
Mooy amassed a total of 57 caps and 7 goals during his time playing for Australia, mainly playing in the World Cup qualifying campaigns. He played in the 2018 World Cup and 2022 World Cup, and made his final appearance against Argentina before retiring in June 2023.
Early life Aaron Frank Mooy was born on 15 September 1990 in Sydney, Australia. At birth, he was given the name Aaron Kuhlman, but his surname was changed by his Dutch mother after she divorced his father during Mooy's early childhood. Mooy had minimal contact with his father, with their only meeting occurring when Mooy was a toddler, and briefly again at 14 during which his father signed forms for his Dutch passport. Mooy was unaware that he had a brother with the same biological father until his brother approached him during his time at Western Sydney Wanderers.
During his upbringing, Mooy developed an interest in watching Premier League matches, particularly favouring Manchester United. David Beckham became his favourite player, and he would watch Beckham's games and practice free kicks, often pretending to be him. His mother responded to his interest in football by registering him with the Carlingford Redbacks. His German stepfather, Alan Todd, would soon join to coach his team.
Mooy's early football journey included stints with various clubs such as the Carlingford Redbacks, Granville Magpies, Blacktown City, and Northern Spirit. He enrolled at the New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) at Sydney Olympic Park and attended Westfields Sports High School. Mornings were dedicated to training, while afternoons were reserved for academic classes. Mooy left his home country at the age of 15 to pursue his ambitions.
Club career Early career
Mooy started his career in Europe as a youth scholar at Bolton Wanderers after being spotted by Chris Sulley. He rejected a contract extension from Bolton in July 2010 in search of more first team football, and duly joined Scottish Premier League club St Mirren the following October, making his league debut in a 3–0 loss to Hearts. On 18 January 2011, he scored his first goal for the club, in the fourth-round replay, in a 6–1 win over Peterhead. Having made 18 appearances and scoring once in all competitions, he was offered a new contract in April 2011 before agreeing a two-year contract with the club in May.
The 2011–12 season was marked by Mooy having suffered a stress fracture in his back. On 17 December 2011, Mooy made his return, coming as a substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Motherwell and in the next game on Christmas Eve 2011 he scored his first league goal for the club against Rangers at St Mirren Park. On 20 June 2012, Mooy was released from St Mirren, having made 30 appearances.
Western Sydney Wanderers
On 25 June 2012, Mooy signed with Western Sydney Wanderers, becoming one of the club's first signings for their inaugural season in the A-League. The official media launch took place at Parramatta Stadium, where he was introduced alongside Tarek Elrich and Kwabena Appiah. Mooy would be joined byMark Bridge, Michael Beauchamp and Shannon Cole prior to the club's first training session on 2 July. Mooy made his unofficial debut on 26 July at Cook Park, St Marys, in front of a crowd of 3,612, in the Wanderers' 5–0 debut win against Nepean.
On 6 October, Mooy made his competitive debut in the opening game of the season in a 0–0 home draw against Central Coast Mariners. He played in the first Sydney Derby match on 20 October, where his side succumbed to a 1–0 defeat after Alessandro Del Piero scored the winner for Sydney FC. On 23 February 2013, Mooy scored his first goal for the club, netting the winner in a 1–0 win against Perth Glory, but was benched the next game by Tony Popovic before the Wanderers' won their 8th successive win in a row. Mooy would miss the final games against Brisbane Roar and Newcastle due to a knee injury, as the Wanderers lifted the Premiers' Plate in the last round at Hunter Stadium in front of 8,000 Wanderers fans.
He made his return in the Grand Final where his side lost 2–0 to Central Coast Mariners. In January 2014, Mooy handed in a request for an immediate transfer to Western Sydney Wanderers due to being unhappy with inconsistent game time during the season. In the following two games against Perth Glory and Newcastle he scored his 2nd and 3rd goals of the season. Mooy was included in the finalised squad for the Wanderers in their first AFC Champions League campaign. He scored his first AFC Champions League goal in a 5–0 group stage victory over Guizhou Renhe, which secured the side's qualification to the Round of 16. Two weeks later, Mooy made a substitute appearance in his second consecutive Grand Final where he was booked in extra time as the team lost 2–1 to Brisbane Roar in front of 51,153 attendees at Suncorp Stadium. On 21 May, Mooy was released by the club.
Melbourne City 2014–15 On the day of his release, Mooy signed a two-year contract with Melbourne City. He made his league debut on 11 October 2014 against Sydney FC, sitting in midfield behind a forward line consisting of David Villa. Mooy was named as Melbourne City's inaugural Etihad Player of the month for October, after registering two assists, and again for November due his performance in City's first win of the season against Brisbane Roar. Mooy scored his first goal on 7 December, the only goal from a penalty in the home fixture against Brisbane, and voted Man of the match for his performance. On 27 December, Mooy received his second man of the match award, scoring in City's 1–1 draw against Perth Glory.
Continuing his form in February, Mooy scored the winning goal from 20 metres against his former club, Western Sydney Wanderers, to secure his side a 2–1 win. His performances saw him labelled by John van 't Schip as his "most stable and most important player". At the end of the season, Mooy collected the Golden Boot (7 goals), Supporters’ Player of the Year and the Player of the Year in Melbourne City's award ceremony. He contributed to 47% of City's goals, led the A-League for balls into the penalty area, completed crosses, completed through balls and shot assists, while defensively he was second in the competition for effective tackles.
2015–16 Mooy signed a three-year deal as the club's marquee player ahead of the 2015–16 season. He started his campaign by scoring the opening goal from a penalty in a 5–1 win over Wellington Phoenix in the FFA Cup. In the subsequent round, Mooy scored his first hat-trick, the first City player to do so in a cup match, in a 5–0 victory against Heidelberg United at Olympic Village. In the first Melbourne Derby of the league season, Mooy assisted twice, helping Bruno Fornaroli to his first league goal for the club, in a 3–2 loss to Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium. In the following month, Mooy scored 6 goals and provided 7 assists, piquing a record $2 million offer from Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr which City rejected.
In the New Year, Mooy missed the game against Sydney FC due to a rib fracture he received three weeks before. Mooy made his return on 9 January 2016, against his former side Western Sydney Wanderers, helping his side to a 3–2 win and ending the Wanderers' 10-game unbeaten streak. On 26 February, Mooy scored his 10th goal of the season, from a deflected free kick, in a 2–1 league defeat to Wellington at Westpac Stadium. Mooy scored his 11th on 18 March against Brisbane, with City becoming the first A-League club to have three players with double-figures in goals; with Harry Novillo (10), and Bruno Fornaroli (21) contributing alongside Mooy. City finished their league campaign, and lost 4–1 to Adelaide United in the A-League semi-final.
By the end of the season, Mooy finished with 11 goals and 21 assists in the league, setting a new record for the most assists in an A-League season and became the first player in A-Leagues history to reach double digits in both goals and assists in a single season. Mooy was placed second in the Johnny Warren Medal, losing to Perth Glory's Diego Castro.
Huddersfield Town 2016–17: Move to Man City and loan to Huddersfield In June 2016, Mooy transferred from Melbourne City to fellow City Football Group team Manchester City, signing a three-year contract, understood to be around $4 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid Australian footballers. Six days after signing for Manchester City, Mooy was loaned to Championship side Huddersfield Town for the 2016–17 season. He made his Huddersfield debut in their 2–1 win over Brentford on 6 August, and scored his first goal for them on 10 September in a 1–0 win over Leeds United in a West Yorkshire derby. On 28 November 2016, he scored the equaliser in an eventual 2–1 loss at home to Wigan Athletic. Huddersfield Town fans voted Mooy as the best player of the season. Mooy was involved in the squad that won the play-off final, scoring one of Huddersfield's four penalties in the penalty shootout against Reading, which secured them Premier League status for the 2017–18 season, the first time in the club's history.
2017–2019: Permanent transfer and Premier league debut In June 2017, Huddersfield signed Mooy on a permanent basis for an initial £8 million, potentially rising to £10 million depending on add-ons, and a buy-back clause for Man City. Mooy made his Premier League debut for Huddersfield in their first game of the 2017–18 season, a 3–0 win over Crystal Palace, Mooy himself involved in two of the goals. He scored his first Premier League goal one week later, the only goal of the game as Huddersfield defeated Newcastle United. On 21 October 2017, Mooy scored the opening goal as Huddersfield upset Manchester United 2–1 in a Premier League clash at Kirklees Stadium. Following the match, a young fan gifted Mooy £5 for his performance, which he later donated to the club's Town Foundation—a charitable organization dedicated to supporting children in the local community. On 17 December, Mooy added his 3rd and 4th goal of the season, including a brace in the 89th minute from the penalty spot, securing a 4–1 win over Watford. He helped Huddersfield clinch survival on 9 May 2018, assisting Laurent Depoitre, to draw 1–1 at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.