“Wellington Phoenix have always treated me well and it is important to me that I am fair to the club and end all the recent speculation," he said today.

"They need to look to the future as do I and I wanted to be straight about the situation.

“I’ve had a great time in Wellington and want to thank them for the way they have treated me and helped my career."

He added: "(Wellington coach) Ricki Herbert has been fantastic for me personally and of course my development as a footballer.

"This was a tough decision to make for all of those reasons, but I feel this move is the right one for me at this stage of my career.”

The prolific hitman, who was voted New Zealand Player of the Year in 2007 ahead of English Premier League defender Ryan Nelson, was a popular figure with the Wellington supporters.

Today, he assured the Phoenix faithful that he would be focussed solely on scoring as many goals as possible for the club until the end of the season.

“Phoenix supporters have always been fantastic with me and I want to thank them all and give them a guarantee that I will be doing what I have always done, which is to give 110% in every game to help the club climb the ladder,” he said.

Born in Germany, the New Zealand international grew up on the Gold Coast and turned out for the Brisbane Strikers in the old NSL prior to heading first to Adelaide then overseas.

Smeltz said the lure of the Gold Coast region was a significant factor in his decision, as was the ambition of the Clive Palmer-led outfit.

“I was brought up on the Gold Coast and it’s always been one of the places I have called ‘home’," he said.

"I have a wife and two young daughters and we’re all looking forward to beginning a new phase in our lives.

“I think it’s clear that Gold Coast United are ambitious and intend to be a successful club and I’m looking forward to being part of that success in the future.”

In the 2007/08 season Smeltz was voted Wellington Phoenix Player of the Year, Player's Player of the Year and Wellington Media Player of the Year, after a stellar campaign with the New Zealand club.

United Coach Miron Bleiberg declared his delight at securing the services of a player who he believes will provide much of the firepower required to ensure a successful first season for his club.

“We couldn’t be happier that Shane has decided to join us as I’m sure he was on the radar of a number of other clubs,” Bleiberg said.

“As a new entrant in the competition it’s vital that we are strong in our first season and to do that we have to have proven strikers.

"In Shane Smeltz that’s exactly what we are getting – a player who has scored regularly in this league and is always a threat to any defence."

He added: “Our next mission is to secure players who will provide the ammunition for Shane to become an even more prolific goalscorer and an even better player than he is already.”

27-year-old Smeltz is the second major signing for Gold Coast United who recently announced former Juventus goalkeeper Jess Vanstrattan as their inaugural custodian.