Marinovic, who has 25 caps for the All Whites, was expected to leave the club at the end of this season after Wellington back-up goalkeeper Oliver Sail replaced him as the Nix's number one.

He made 33 appearances for Wellington over the past two seasons, and has previously played for 1860 Munich, Vancouver Whitecaps and Bristol City, among others.

“Stef did a fantastic job for us, he was integral for us in the success we had last season as a Club,” said Ufuk Talay.

“This season it’s been tough for him - we gave him game time then I felt we needed a change and Oli [Sail] came in and done a fantastic job.

“We’ve been very fortunate in the sense that we’ve had two No. 1 calibre goalkeepers at our Club, and it’s one of those ones where you've got two good players fighting for one position - which makes it very difficult.

“We wish Stef all the best for his footballing future and thank him for his contribution to the Phoenix.”