{"id":250547,"date":"2026-06-29T02:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T02:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/kicking-themselves-a-league-club-hits-back-over-cash-out-on-socceroos-gun-lucas-herrington\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T02:12:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T02:12:00","slug":"kicking-themselves-a-league-club-hits-back-over-cash-out-on-socceroos-gun-lucas-herrington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/kicking-themselves-a-league-club-hits-back-over-cash-out-on-socceroos-gun-lucas-herrington\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Kicking themselves\u2019: A-League club hits back over cash-out on Socceroos gun Lucas Herrington"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Socceroos midfielder Connor Metcalfe joked the Brisbane Roar must be \u201ckicking themselves\u201d after prematurely cashing out their sell-out clause for Australian young gun Lucas Herrington.<\/p>\n

However the A-League club insisted on Monday it should be celebrated for helping to identify and develop a player of Herrington\u2019s calibre.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old Queenslander, who currently represents the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer, became the youngest Australian to start a World Cup match during last week\u2019s 0-0 draw against Paraguay at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. The centre back contributed a team-high ten defensive interventions to help the Socceroos keep a clean sheet, which proved enough for Australia to qualify for the knockouts.<\/p>\n

<\/amp-img><\/amp-iframe><\/div>\n

He will almost certainly keep his spot in the starting XI for Australia\u2019s Round of 32 match against Egypt in Dallas, which commences on Saturday at 4am AEST.<\/p>\n

Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now ><\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

Herrington has been linked with a move to La Liga champions Barcelona, where he\u2019s predicted to fetch a price of somewhere between $23 million to $30 million, according to the <\/p>\n

CIES Football Observatory. The current Australian record is Leicester City\u2019s $26 million purchase of Harry Souttar from Stoke City in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to stay present and really enjoy this moment,\u201d Herrington responded when asked about the transfer speculation last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my first one, hopefully first of many, but it doesn\u2019t come around very often.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really just trying to put my best forward and work hard, and we\u2019ll see what comes after it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m just fully focused on the World Cup and the team at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

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CANADA VS SOTH AFRICA: Emotional scenes after stoppage-time madness<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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Australia’s Lucas Herrington. AP Photo\/Eakin Howard<\/span>Source: AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Metcalfe praised Herrington\u2019s calmness and maturity, claiming that \u201cnothing really fazes him\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty wild, to be honest… he never looks nervous,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not nervous when he has the ball… sometimes if a young player is playing, a lot of the other boys can be nervous they\u2019re going to make a rash decision, but he\u2019s calm on the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s dealing with all the hype and press really well, he\u2019s very level-headed and a nice guy, and that will help him a lot in his next stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, Herrington signed for Colorado following an 18-month stint at the Brisbane Roar, with the A-League club selling him for about $1 million.<\/p>\n

According to the Sydney Morning Herald<\/a><\/i>, the Roar negotiated a 20 per cent sell-on clause with Colorado, which they recently cashed out for about $530,000. <\/p>\n

If Herrington\u2019s rapid rise continues and the deal with Barcelona comes to fruition, the A-League club\u2019s decision to choose a short-term cash injection over holding out for a bigger sum could cost millions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll probably be kicking themselves,\u201d Metcalfe laughed when informed of the sell-on clause.<\/p>\n

The Roar, however, responded on Monday, ultimately confirming the figures reported but declaring the story was being told \u201cwithout the full picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read their full statement below:<\/p>\n

A lot has been said recently about Brisbane Roar reaching an agreement with Colorado Rapids over Lucas Herrington\u2019s sell-on fee. Much of it has been told without the full picture. We want to set out exactly what happened, and why it matters for this football<\/i> club. <\/i><\/p>\n

The conversation started with Colorado Rapids approaching the Roar with a proposal to buy out the sell-on percentage the club held on Lucas at an increased valuation. As with any decision of this size, the matter was taken to the club\u2019s ownership group, as<\/i><\/p>\n

our governance requires. After reviewing the proposal, ownership directed the club to negotiate and reach an agreement. That is the process that was followed, properly and in full. <\/i><\/p>\n

What has been missing from the coverage is the part that matters most. How did the Roar come to hold a sell-on stake worth this much in the first place? <\/i><\/p>\n

Lucas Herrington was not bought. He was identified in the Football Queensland pathway, developed and backed into professional football by this club. We supported him through our pathway, gave Lucas his opportunity in the professional game, and built his value<\/i><\/p>\n

to the point where clubs overseas were interested, after Lucas had played less than 15 professional matches. The transfer itself was a record for the club and the hard work to ensure a sell-on fee was added to the deal further protected the time put into Lucas<\/i><\/p>\n

by numerous coaches and support staff. In total, Lucas Herrington\u2019s transfer has now returned more than AUD$1.5 million to Brisbane Roar. <\/i><\/p>\n

<\/amp-img>
Lucas Herrington with Socceroos teammates.<\/span>Source: Supplied Source Known<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He is not the exception. He is the latest in a run of talented young Queenslanders to progress. Over the past three years alone, the players this club has developed and sold have brought in more than AUD$3 million in transfer fees. To put that figure in context,<\/i><\/p>\n

across the entire history of Brisbane Roar before this period, the club had earned circa AUD$500,000. Furthermore, sell-on fees were not present in any deal transacted by the club prior to this period. <\/i><\/p>\n

That is not luck. It is a deliberate strategy. Identify Queensland talent early, develop it properly, give it a genuine professional platform, and structure deals so the club shares in a player\u2019s future. The same pathway that produced Lucas is producing the<\/i><\/p>\n

next group behind him, and every dollar it earns goes back into the football club. This model, one shared by clubs around the A-League is often forgotten and not covered in totality by wider media who would rather push a certain narrative and headlines that<\/i><\/p>\n

return clicks. <\/i><\/p>\n

We understand supporters want to see the Roar hold and build its best young players. So do we. We started on the path of heavily backing young, Queensland talent three years ago and the fruits of that path are already be produced. It is path that we will continue<\/i><\/p>\n

for many years to come. <\/i><\/p>\n

We could not be prouder of Lucas and everything he has gone on to achieve. He carried this badge, he earned his move, and Brisbane Roar will share in his journey for a long time to come. In the immediate future, we wish both him and the CommBank Socceroos the<\/i><\/p>\n

very best in their upcoming World Cup Round of 32 clash against Egypt this weekend. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Socceroos midfielder Connor Metcalfe joked the Brisbane Roar must be \u201ckicking themselves\u201d after prematurely cashing out their sell-out clause for Australian young gun Lucas Herrington. However the A-League club insisted on Monday it should be celebrated for helping to identify and develop a player of Herrington\u2019s calibre. The 18-year-old Queenslander, who currently represents the Colorado […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":250548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-250547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}