With the A-League facing a cash crunch and in the process of transitioning into a league positioned more on developing youngsters than attracting top overseas talent, the 33-year-old German’s exit with a year left on his contract will leave a major chasm.

Tolgay’s agent, former Melbourne Victory star Fahid Ben Khalfallah, is hoping to have the playmaker’s future resolved over the next few days.

“For me Tolgay can still play at the the top level and it’s just a matter of him wanting to do something different, embrace a new experience for him and his family,” he said.

“There’s interest in Turkey and elsewhere in Europe plus a number of countries in Asia. We’re just trying work out the best way forward on terms of making him happy. 

“There is nothing concrete yet and no decisions have been made but in football things can progress quickly.”

The scorer of 19 goals in all competitions, as well as seven assists, across 34 appearances, Tolgay was City’s player of the year and player’s player of the year and generally recognised as the league’s most accomplished import last season.

With central contributions to clubs cut to a paltry $530,000 next season, the era of attracting players of Tolgay’s calibre to the A-League appear to be all but over, robbing fans of the spectacle and denying emerging Aussies the chance to play with and learn from the best.

Once of Besiktas and Fenerbahce, Tolgay is, according to Ben Khalfallah, keeping all options open as he considers his next step, with destinations like Korea, Japan, China and the Middle East of particular interest barring a return to Europe, where he was recently linked with former club Udinese as a potential sporting director.