Paris (AFP) – France international midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain, the French champions announced Friday.
“PSG have signed Hatem Ben Arfa to a two-year deal through June 2018,” the club said on its Twitter account.
The former Lyon, Marseille and Newcastle winger — who joined from Ligue 1 rivals Nice — is the club’s first recruit since Spanish coach Unai Emery replaced Laurent Blanc this week.
Both Emery and the gifted Ben Arfa will be officially presented by the club at their Parc des Princes ground on Monday by the club’s Qatari backer Nasser al-Khelaifi.
The 29-year-old Ben Arfa, who missed out on Didier Deschamps’ Euro 2016 squad, was available on a free transfer after his contract with Nice expired this summer.
“Paris Saint-Germain has always had a special place in my heart and wearing this jersey at the Parc des Princes is a childhood dream,” said Ben Arfa, who comes from Clamart on the outskirts of Paris.
“I’d like to thank Nice, who enabled me to re-find pleasure in playing football and to show the French public what I’m capable of on the pitch,” he added on PSG’s website.
Ben Arfa moves to the French capital after a 17-goal haul last term that inspired Nice to a club-best third in the table.
At Nice, under the south coast club’s then coach Claude Puel, he shed his occasional badboy image forged by various run-ins with former coaches.
He had a largely disappointing spell in England with Newcastle and a loan spell with Hull City followed by six months out of the game in 2015 before his career-boosting move to Nice.
His arrival came the day after PSG’s out-of-contract Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced he was joining Manchester United.
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