French star William Gallas admits it only took Perth Glory coach Alistair Edwards half an hour to convince him he should move to Australia and join his A-League club.
The former Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham defender will link up with the Glory as their international marquee next month after agreeing to a one-year deal last week.
“I feel good, I feel very excited to be in Australia,” Gallas told Fox Sports in Cannes, France on Wednesday.
“I don’t know that country, but I spoke with some people who are from Australia and from Perth and they said I will love it.”
One of those people was Edwards, with whom he consulted after talks with Ange Postecoglou and Melbourne Victory broke down.
“We spoke for maybe 30 minutes and after what he said to me, I decided with my agent to go to Australia,” he said.
“For me, it was very important to have a new challenge.”
The two-time English Premier League champion hasn’t played a match since April, when he featured for Tottenham against Basel in a Europa League fixture.
But the 36-year-old insists he is fit and looking forward to the opportunity to take on a leadership role at his new club.
“I trained for almost four months by myself, so I’m very happy because now I’m ready,” he added.
“I prefer to speak on the pitch. That is my job. But now I have to take that responsibility (as a marquee player), because it would be the new responsibility for me.
“I won’t go there and straight away to say `that was wrong’. No, no.
“It’s very important to bring that mentality of the warrior (and make sure) the guys would like to win every game.
“If the players can respond to that, I think it would be good for the team and for the club.”
Gallas is slated to play his first game for the Glory on November 16 at home against Adelaide United.
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