Perry Ng Moves Closer to Singapore Dream as Cardiff City Leader
Perry Ng has spent years talking about it. Now, at 30, he can finally say it out loud with a bit more conviction: the Singapore dream is getting closer.
The Cardiff City defender, born in Liverpool but eligible for Singapore through his paternal grandfather, has never hidden his ambition to pull on the Lions shirt and test himself on the international stage.
“I think we’re getting closer,” Ng said. “I think in September I’ll have to go, maybe do a few more different things for the criteria for the passport, but hopefully it’s not too far away now.”
A long, confusing process is starting to take shape.
Ng obtained Singapore permanent resident status in March 2025 and has since applied for citizenship through the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme. He has previously admitted the journey towards citizenship left him frustrated and confused, but the tone now is different. More hopeful. More certain.
This summer, he chose not to switch off from that ambition. He flew towards it.
“I spent a month in Singapore [this summer],” he said. “I got to do a lot of activities and spend time with my family and different community events. It was fantastic.”
Those weeks were not just a holiday. They were a rehearsal for the life he wants: family time in the country he hopes to represent, community work, a growing sense of belonging. The national jersey still feels just out of reach, but not for much longer if the paperwork falls into place.
Promotion, plaudits and a manager he doesn’t want to leave
While the Singapore story gathers pace off the pitch, Ng’s stock has never been higher on it.
Last season he was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year as Cardiff City secured promotion back to the Championship. Reliable, consistent, and central to the way Cardiff played, he emerged as one of the standout defenders in the division.
His reward is not just a step up in division, but a manager he is determined to grow under.
“I think I’ve lost count now. I think it was 11 or 12 [managers],” Ng said of his time at Cardiff. That churn would wear down most players. Ng sounds like a man who has finally found the right fit.
“I’ve been waiting for a manager like Brian to come in. So I feel like, why would I leave now?
“I want to continue working with Brian mostly. I think he’s one of the best managers in the league and I’m sure he’ll have a bright future.
“Just the way he sees football and the way he wants us to play, and how detailed he is on and off the pitch. I think that’s been missing at times from my time at Cardiff. He’s just a joy to work with every day.”
Brian Barry-Murphy has given Cardiff a clear identity. Ng has become one of the key pillars of that structure.
Tied to the club until 2028, he is not just a senior player; he is part of the project’s core. Barry-Murphy has been clear about that.
“We’re now looking for him to really assume the leadership role that he’s done so well and improve himself because he’s a very important player for us,” the head coach said.
“Perry is a rhythm player. Once he gets his rhythm and starts playing a lot of games, he tends to improve very quickly. We want that from him.”
A defender in rhythm for his club, waiting for the rhythm of a new anthem.
If the paperwork lands when he expects, Ng could soon be juggling Championship football with the chance to anchor Singapore’s back line. For a player who once found the process “confusing”, the path is finally clearing — and the next time he boards a flight to Singapore, it might be with a passport that changes his career.
