Tim Payne (Club Olimpia | Paraguay)

It does indeed sound like a "life changing move" and I wish him all the best under the circumstances.  
As long as he comes back safe and in one piece after his cameo season I am all for it.

Will have to keep an eye out for the 2027 Copa Libertadores draw, which Olimpia have qualified for.

They are also still going in the 2026 Copa Sudamericana, CONMEBOL's 2nd tier club comp.

Into the R16 they will play the winner of a playoff between Independiente Medellín (Col) v Vasco da Gama (Bra). 

R16 tie over 2 legs H&A. So as soon as August Timmy P could have the chance to travel to either Colombia or Brazil.
I've watched 2 club games in Medellin. Mad, totally mad.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Copa_Sudamericana

Oh and the Olimpia fans may rate him more, if the Socceroos do a job on Paraguay in their last pool game. Noting that a few of the Aussie players are coming from the same club comp as Payne.

Phoenix director of football Shaun Gill said clubs began expressing interest in Payne within a week of him going viral, with Olimpia beating out as many as five South American rivals for his signature.

The Phoenix explored ways to leverage Payne’s newfound popularity, but the player ultimately decided he wanted to immerse himself in South America and make the move to Paraguay.

The Phoenix just keeps on developing Kiwi talent 😎

He better hope those dodgy hammys don't fail him over the next month.

https://twitter.com/_Limenation/status/2067719076185825304

https://twitter.com/_Limenation/status/2067719076185825304

This guy should thank his lucky stars the Indian cricket fans didn't find him a few years back.

https://twitter.com/thenichecache/status/2068919880330723757

https://twitter.com/thenichecache/status/2068919880330723757

https://twitter.com/thenichecache/status/2068919880330723757

https://twitter.com/thenichecache/status/2068919880330723757

Niche Cache

In a completely beneficial coincidence, Payne’s partner has a Costa Rican mother and grew up speaking Spanish, hence this truly is a special opportunity for him and his family - he’s not just saying that because he’s got a social media manager now. The fact that he’s got that extra connection to football in the Americas – which Old Mate El Scarso could never have known – makes this even more providential. And while there is still some gimmickry involved in this move, with the Olimpia bossman already frothing at the commercial prospects, the opportunity for T-Payne is completely real. Olimpia are a club that’ll embrace a marketing ploy but they’re also not about to risk their ongoing success so we can trust that Olimpia have a plan for Payne beyond the social media buzz. 
 

(Unlike the Argentinian club that tried to sign him: Deportivo Riestra admitted they were interested and it would have fitted their modus operandi because two years ago they club got in trouble when they registered a Twitch streamer and picked him to start a top division game, then subbed him off inside the first minute, all as a publicity stunt).

Rodrigo Nogués, Olimpia club president: “Obviously for us, we're not going to hide it, we're not going to deny it, the signing plays a significant role in our global brand consolidation strategy. The idea is to strengthen our brand globally.”

More from Señor Nogues: “We had been following everything that was happening around Tim Payne globally. We searched the internet for the contact of his agent at Transfermarkt, we sent him an email and he responded in less than 24 hours. When I spoke to [Payne], he had already done his research [on Club Olimpia]. The truth is that we didn’t need to convince him about Olimpia, though he did catch up on the club's current affairs. Luckily it was a quick process. We’ve already had a lot of impact in terms of brands. Sponsors of the club contacted us as well as new brands with whom we already have initial conversations. The brand exposure for Club Olimpia has been gigantic in terms of media and that will allow us to monetise. But while this is a signing that has an important marketing impact, it was analysed together with the sports management because we know that this transfer can give us a lot on the field.”

There were also clubs in Mexico and Uruguay reportedly after him, might have even had a bidding war for her services. You can see why Olimpia was the most attractive offer though. Payne will be the first New Zealander to play professionally in Paraguay and the first to feature (should he do so) in the Copa Sudamericana. Not the first to play Copa Libertadores, mind you. If he’s still around for that campaign then he’ll be following in the footsteps of his long-time All Whites teammate Marco Rojas who made two appearances for Colo-Colo of Chile in that competition a couple years ago. Played against Monagas (Venezuela) and Boca Juniors (Argentina).

Random fact: Club Olimpia have had very few players through the years who weren’t from the Americas but they did sign the Togo legend Emmanuel Adebayor back in 2020. He only played three games for them though. Got red carded in his third appearance for karate kicking a fella in the face and then never went back once covid hit 

Watching the Socceroos v Paraguay match, heard it mentioned that Paraguayan legend Roque Luis Santa Cruz is still playing in the Paraguayan Primera División.
He'll be 45 in August!!

Current club Nacional, but he mostly played in his home country with Payne's Olimpia.

He had 2 seasons with Ryan Nelsen at Blackburn Rovers.
I remember some yarn by Nellie that Santa Cruz was so handsome, Nellie's wife was not so secretly in love with him!

Given how poor Payne has been this WC and for the Nix, getting NZ$ 500k is a great little return for the club plus it allows younger kiwis to get a chance to become the next Wood, Just, Almond, Nelsen etc.

Paraguayan league restarts late July. 
It wil be party time in Asuncion right now after the win over the Germans

After seven years at the Phoenix, Payne said playing at a World Cup and moving overseas had always been his dream.

He has been learning Spanish on Duolingo, with support from his partner Michelle Peters, who grew up in Costa Rica.

“They got in contact with my agent and it’s a fantastic football move and a fantastic move for my family. Everything just seemed to fit. I had really good conversations with them and to be able to go there and compete at that level, it’s just a fantastic challenge,” Payne said.

“Any footballer wants to try and compete at the highest level they can. Where at a massive tournament so you’re on the world stage and if you perform that can happen. I’ve always been open to the idea.”

Payne met Scarsini at the team hotel in Boca Raton after the warm-up against Haiti and said he remained grateful for being singled out – especially with some team-mates having even fewer followers.

In a sign of just how far his fame had spread, McDonald’s Argentina created a personalised Payne “Legends Cup”, putting him alongside global stars Lionel Messi, David Beckham and Ronaldinho, while dozens of international supporters arrived at the All Whites’ first game in Los Angeles kitted out in “No Payne, No Gain” t-shirts.

Sad news for all the Payniacs out there….Tim is actually losing followers now 😥

https://blastup.com/instagram-follower-count?timpayne__