Get To Know: Massimo Luongo

The lowdown on Boro's new recruit...

• Massimo Luongo was born in Sydney, Australia, on 25 September 1992. 
• His father Mario is of Italian heritage while his mother Ira is of Indonesian heritage.
• Following a youth career with APIA Leichhardt FC in suburban Sydney, Massimo joined Tottenham Hotspur’s Academy in January 2011. 
• He made his professional debut in a loan spell with Ipswich Town, later spending time on loan with Swindon Town, the club he would join permanently in 2013. 
• Massimo was named in the 2014/15 PFA Team of the Year for League One, and played in the play-off final for Swindon at Wembley, the Robins losing out to Preston North End.
• That summer, the midfielder did step up to the second tier, moving to Queens Park Rangers.
• Playing under former Spurs youth coach Chris Ramsey as Loftus Road, Massimo quickly felt at home, in fact he was on the FIFA Ballon d'Or longlist for the 2015 campaign. 
• He would feature just shy of 150 times for Rangers over a four-season stay, including spells as captain. 
• Massimo joined Sheffield Wednesday in 2019, where he would be managed by two ex-Boro bosses – Garry Monk and Tony Pulis. 
• The midfielder had an injury-hit season as the Owls were relegated in 2020/21, but returned to be a prominent player in the second half of 2021/22 as Wednesday reached the League One play-offs.
• Massimo won Wednesday’s Player of the Month competition in January 2022 and appeared in two of the EFL's Team of the Week line-ups.
• Wednesday hoped to keep hold of the midfielder, offering a new contract at the end of the 2021/22 season, but Massimo decided to seek pastures new. 
• An international teammate of Riley McGree, Massimo has been capped 43 times by Australia. 
• He lifted the Asia Cup with the Socceroos in 2015, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and coming third in the AFC Asian International Player of the Year award the same year. 
• Massimo joined Boro on Thursday 8 September on a contract until the following January.