He wanted to stay at the London side to ensure top-level football in the run-up to the World Cup in 2014, but Stekelenburg's signing Wednesday convinced him it was time to move. "That's what I've heard (Stekelenburg's signing) and I've been hearing that for a while so it's no great surprise and I'll be looking for another club," he told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

Stekelenburg, 30, has won 54 caps for the Netherlands and had two Dutch titles with Ajax in 2004 and 2011 before he joined Roma.

Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg usually has a safe pair of hands, but he managed to drop the Dutch league's trophy from the top of a bus as the team took a triumphal ride through Amsterdam.

Netherlands and Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his thumb, the Dutch news agency ANP reported on Wednesday.