Massimo Corey Luongo ( ; born 25 September 1992) is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for the Australia national team. He is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Luongo played youth football for

APIA Leichhardt Tigers APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt, New South Wales, Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was forme ...

before moving to England to play for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, where he started his professional career. Following a loan spell at

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, he played on loan at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, a move which was eventually made permanent. After four years at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

, he joined

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in 2019. Luongo played for the Australia national team from 2014 until December 2023, making 45 appearances in total before announcing his retirement from international football. He was a member of the squad at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

and played a central role in Australia winning the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

, where he scored in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

and was named player of the tournament. He also went to the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

and

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup (or commonly called the Asian Cup 2019) was the 17th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international association football, football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ...

Early life and education

Luongo was born on 25 September 1992 in

, Australia. His father Mario is of Italian heritage and mother Ira Luongo is of Indonesian heritage. He attended Waverley College. He is the youngest of three children; he has a sister Angela and a brother Tiziano. In addition to holding an

Australian passport An Australian passport is a travel document issued by the Australia, Commonwealth of Australia to individuals holding any form of Australian nationality law, Australian nationality. The document facilitates access to consular assistance from Li ...

, Luongo also has an

Italian passport An Italian passport () is issued upon request to an Italian nationality law, Italian citizen for the purpose of international travel. It is valid for 10, 5 or 3 years, depending on the applicant's age. Its Biometric passports, biometric version ...

. According to Luongo, his maternal great-grandfather was Sultan Ambela Abu'l-Khair Sirajuddin of

Bima Sultanate The Sultanate of Bima (), officially known as The Settlements and Lands of Mbojo ( Bima: ''Rasa ro Dana Mbojo''), alternatively the Kingdom of Bima () was a Muslim state in the eastern part of Sumbawa in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day r ...

based in

Sumbawa Sumbawa, is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. Along with Lombok, it forms the province of West Nusa Tenggara, but th ...

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

Luongo signed for

in January 2011 after impressing on trial, and went on to make nine appearances for the under-18 team during the 2010–11 Premier Academy League season, scoring three goals. He made his only appearance for the first team on 20 September 2011 in a 7–6

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

loss to fellow

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

of the League Cup, replacing

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Braz ...

after 70 minutes. Luongo had his penalty attempt saved by

Thomas Sørensen Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (; born 12 June 1976) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Sørensen started his career with his local side Odense BK. After impressing on loan at Vejle Boldklub and Svendborg he wa ...

, resulting in the defeat. On 6 February 2012, he was called up to a league match for the first time, remaining an unused substitute as Tottenham earned a goalless draw away to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Thirteen days later he was included in the squad for the last time, again unused in a goalless

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

fifth round match away to League One team

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

Ipswich Town (loan)

On 23 July 2012, Luongo joined

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

on a season-long loan for the 2012–13 season. He made his debut on 14 August in the first round of the League Cup, playing the entirety of a 3–1 win over League Two club

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

Portman Road Portman Road is a association football, football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one E ...

. Four days later he played his first professional league game, starting in a 1–1 home draw against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and making way for

Andy Drury Andrew Mark Drury (born 28 November 1983) is an English footballer and football manager. He started his career in non-League football for Sittingbourne in 2001, moving to Gravesend & Northfleet in 2003. He remained with the club for three sea ...

after 70 minutes. On 28 August, in the second round of the League Cup against

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

, he scored from outside the penalty area to put Ipswich ahead with his first professional goal, but Carlisle scored a late equaliser and won 2–1 after extra time. The loan was terminated on 9 November after new Ipswich manager

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...

said that he wanted a 'different type of player'.

Swindon Town

On 28 March 2013, Luongo signed for

on loan along with fellow Spurs trainees Nathan Byrne and Dean Parrett. The very next day he went straight into the squad to face

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

and play the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw at the County Ground. On 16 April, Luongo scored his first goal for Swindon in a 4–1 win over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, heading in Gary Roberts' cross. He opened the scoring on 4 May in the 70th minute of the first leg of the play-off semi-final against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, but in added time conceded a penalty by fouling Harry Forrester; Kevin O'Connor converted it for a 1–1 draw. Swindon eventually lost the tie in a penalty shootout. Luongo signed a season-long loan deal with Swindon Town on 2 July 2013 and was handed the number 4 shirt. At the end of August 2013, Swindon signed Luongo on a permanent three-year contract having agreed a fee of £400,000 with Spurs. He scored six goals in 44 league appearances that season, including a first professional brace in a 5–2 home win over Port Vale on 2 November. In the following campaign, he got just as many goals but in 34 matches, as Swindon lost the play-off final to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

Queens Park Rangers

On 28 May 2015, Luongo joined

, along with

teammate Ben Gladwin, both signing a three-year deal. QPR head coach Chris Ramsey was Luongo's youth coach at Tottenham. He made his debut in the first game of the Championship season on 8 August, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 defeat at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

. Luongo played 30 league games in his first season – 32 overall – but did not score. His performances earned him a place on the

FIFA Ballon d'Or The FIFA Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and ''France Football'', the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Y ...

longlist for the 2015 campaign. He scored his first goal for QPR in a 5–1 win over

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

on 18 March 2017. Following Nedum Onouha's ruptured hamstring injury that November, Luongo was handed the responsibility of captaincy.

Sheffield Wednesday

On 8 August 2019, Luongo joined

for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut the following weekend, coming off the bench against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. He scored his first goal for the club against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, which was also his first start for the club. He was sent off in a game against

, but the red card was later rescinded. In his second season at the club he was injured several times, the first being in a game against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

, returning on 7 December 2020. He was ruled out again for another five to six weeks on 24 February 2021. After another injury layoff, he returned to the squad at the start of 2022 with some impressive performances, winning the clubs January Player-of-the-Month competition, as well as appearing in two of EFL's Team of the Week after his performances against

and

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

. The club announced he was offered a new contract following the end of the 2021-22 season. On 22 June 2022, it was confirmed that he had rejected his new contract and would leave the club.

Middlesbrough

On 8 September 2022, Luongo joined

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on a short-term deal until January 2023. His contract was cancelled by mutual consent on 5 January, having not made an appearance.

Ipswich Town

On the same day as being released from Middlesbrough, Luongo signed a short-team deal at Ipswich of

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

, where he had been loaned to over a decade earlier. He made his first appearance on 28 January 2023 in the fourth round of the FA Cup, as a 78th-minute substitute for

Sam Morsy Samy Sayed Mekkawy Saied Morsy (; born 10 September 1991) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town, whom he Captain (association football), captains. Born in ...

in a goalless home draw with Championship leaders

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

; on 18 March, as a starter, he scored the first goal of his spell to conclude a 2–0 win over

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. On 9 June 2025, Luongo was released by Ipswich at the expiration of his contract following the end of the 2024–25 season.

International career

Luongo represented the Australia under-20 team twice but was not selected for the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil national under-20 football team, Brazil w ...

. He made his debut for the Socceroos on 6 March 2014 as a second-half substitute for captain

Mile Jedinak Michael John "Mile" Jedinak (; ; born 3 August 1984) is an Australian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He was until recently an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur. Jedin ...

in the 3–4 loss to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

The New Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in Bermondsey, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter-of-a-mile from the Old Den, whic ...

in London. He was selected for the 23-man Australia squad for the

in Brazil by manager

Ange Postecoglou Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou ( ; ; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who was most recently manager of club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spen ...

, but did not feature in any of their three matches as they were eliminated in the group stage. Luongo was also selected in the 23-man squad for the

Asia Cup The Men's Asia Cup is the biennial cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council. The competition is contested by Asian members' senior men's national cricket teams, determining the continental champion of Asia. It was establis ...

to be played on home soil in Australia. Swindon teammate Yaser Kasim was also called up for

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, meaning that the club would have to compete in their regular League One season without the two central midfielders for a month. He went on to score in Australia's 4–1 win over

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in the opening game of the tournament, in addition to providing the assist that led to

Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "hi ...

scoring Australia's first goal of the match. At the end of the game, he was named as man of the match. Luongo also started in Australia's second group game against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, providing the assist for

Robbie Kruse Robbie Thomas Kruse ( ; ; born 5 October 1988) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. He played his junior football with Pine Rivers Soccer Club in the Pine ...

to score Australia's second goal in an eventual 4–0 win. He played in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Final against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, scoring the first goal from outside the box in a 2–1 win. He was named as Most Valuable Player of the tournament after scoring two goals and assisting four throughout the tournament. Luongo was named in Australia's 23-man squad for the

in Russia by manager

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch Association football, football manager who is a member of the supervisory board for MVV Maastricht. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ, MVV Maastricht, MVV and For ...

after having the most prolific season of his career at QPR. He did not play as the team were eliminated from the group stage, and told London's ''Metro'' newspaper that he was frustrated to not feature. He was chosen for the

in the United Arab Emirates. In December 2023, Luongo announced his retirement from international football to focus on his domestic football, to focus on helping his club

to be promoted to the

. He had played for the Socceroos 45 times. In October 2024, Luongo came out of international retirement after being named in

Tony Popovic Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is currently head coach of the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national football team. He guided the team to qualify for the 202 ...

's inaugural Australia squad for World Cup qualifiers against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Luongo goal.''

Honours

Ipswich Town *

runner-up: 2022–23 *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

runner-up: 2023–24 Australia *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2014–15 League One *AFC Asian Cup Most Valuable Player:

*AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2015 * AFC Asian International Player of the Year third-place: 2015 *

Player of the Season: 2017–18

References

External links

Profile
at the Ipswich Town F.C. website
Massimo Luongo – Interview

Massimo Luongo – Interview
with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Luongo, Massimo 1992 births Living people Australian people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent Australian people of Indonesian descent Australia men's international soccer players Men's association football midfielders Australian expatriate men's soccer players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players English Football League players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players Soccer players from Sydney AFC Asian Cup–winning players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Australian men's soccer players Premier League players 21st-century Australian sportsmen