Manchester City to Mt Druitt: Louis Khoury’s Incredible Football Journey

Twenty-one-year-old Louis Khoury has made a strong impact for Mt Druitt Town Rangers in the opening five rounds of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition in 2022.

While he now proudly takes to the home field at Popondetta Park to represent the Rangers, Khoury has had quite an impressive journey in his football career so far.

Khoury, with the support of his family, made a big move to England when he was just 10 years old to learn the trade.

“I went to Football NSW’s Project 22 and there was a coach from Project 22 that knew some coaches at Manchester City because he had some connections there,” he explained.

“Through that, I went on trial to Manchester City, Everton, Man United, all those clubs when I was 10 years old.

“I ended up signing with them [Man City] with a six-year deal at 11.

“When we first went to England and I was training for these big clubs, I didn’t really think I’d get noticed because I’m just another kid – I didn’t really think I’d have a chance.

“At 16 I moved to Blackburn Rovers and I signed there for two years and after Blackburn Rovers, I went and played in the National League North a bit over there – so the Conference.

“After that things sort of went stale because once you’re spat out of the system there it’s hard.

“I ended up coming back here for football…just because I thought it would be more beneficial for my football.”

The incredible journey playing in England has given Khoury an amazing foundation for his future career, none of which would have been possible without the support of his family.

“No one really played sport in my family so they said we may as well just have a go and whatever is meant to be will be and that’s the attitude they had and they have no regrets at all today,” he explained.

“They still support me ‘til today with whatever I want to do in life and they’ve been amazing this whole time.

“I’ve got four other siblings so it was a tough period in all our lives because it didn’t just affect me it affected everyone in the family as well.”

While the youngster played for Central Coast Mariners on his return to Australia, he made the move to the NPL NSW Men’s competition this year to take his football to the next level.

“I ended up moving to Mt Druitt just for this season because it seemed like a really good opportunity.

“I had offers from Portugal as well but I ended up choosing the NPL because everything just suited me more for this season in every regard.”

After five rounds in the league, Khoury has nothing but praise for the quality and competitiveness of the competition and the challenge it has provided him.

“The NPL NSW Men’s competition  is probably one of the most underrated things someone can do because it’s actually a really good league with a really good standard of players,” he said.

“It’s a physical league, it’s a technical league, it’s got ex-pros and players that didn’t want to play in the A-League even though they could so it’s actually got a good level of players and good quality.

“I needed a whole season of just playing football, especially after these past couple of years with what’s happening in the world – the whole season of playing regular football, men’s football, in a respected competition, just for my own career.

“I didn’t really know what to expect of myself this year – I always backed myself as a player but it’s just been amazing to play every game and to get 90 minutes every week

“To rise to the occasion of the NPL is still something that I don’t take for granted as well because it’s not an easy thing to do anyway.”

With plenty of praise for the league, the 21-year-old also had plenty of praise for Mt Druitt Town Rangers, the club he chose to join this season.

The start to the season has been tough for the Western Sydney outfit, without a win in the opening five rounds.

“The team has helped me a lot, Mt Druitt has helped me a lot, the coaching staff there have given me a lot of belief in my ability – we’ve got a good group of people there,” he explained.

“Regardless of the results I think our team spirit is probably the best in the league to be honest, just the results haven’t gone our way.

“It’s amazing what football does – it brings so many different stories together and different personalities together.

“Jack [Stewart] is scoring goals every week, scoring for fun, doing really well.

“Diogo has come in and he’s had some good bits as well – he’s definitely a strong, powerful guy.

“I think once we gel all together, once we understand each other’s movements off the ball and on the ball more, I think we’ll be one of the most dangerous teams in the league even though we’re last on the ladder.

“I think we do have a good team but we need to show it by getting results.”

While Khoury has left behind some of the biggest clubs in England, he still has plenty of ambition to go as far as he can in his football career.

“If I were to say what my next ambitions are I would definitely say go pro again, wherever that may be,” he said.

“My ambition would be to do really well in the NPL as I’m doing and try to have the ball in my court a little bit to have a say.

“My current task is to keep doing what I’m doing – head down, work hard.”

-By Madeline Riley