WESLEY Sneijder completed his free transfer to Nice on Monday as the Ligue 1 club secured yet another star name.
Following the signing of France international Hatem Ben Arfa two years ago and Italian bad boy Mario Balotelli last season, unfashionable Nice have done it again to secure the services of another marquee signing.
“Nice can count a third Champions League winner in our squad after Dante and Mario Balotelli,” said the club.
“Having arrived on the Cote d’Azur on Sunday night, Wesley Sneijder is an Eaglet after passing Monday’s medical exam.” Nice have made a habit of securing eye-catching acquisitions with Brazilian Dante, who won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2013, and Moroccan playmaker Younes Belhanda both joining last summer.
Belhanda was on a year-long loan and returned to Dynamo Kiev at the end of last season before moving on to Galatasaray, to replace the departing Sneijder.
The Dutchman, his country’s all-time record caps holder with 131, won the Champions League alongside Balotelli under Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan in 2010.
He is Nice’s fifth summer recruit, although they have also seen a few players leave with more still coveted by richer clubs.
The 33-year-old Snejider has won league titles in four different countries having started his career at Ajax and moved on to Real Madrid, before joining Inter and then Galatasaray.
His signing is a huge boost for Nice, who finished third last year and face a two-legged play-off with Napoli later this month to earn qualification for the Champions League group stages.
Meanwhile, Nice also signed French youth international Allan Saint-Maximin from champions Monaco on Monday after he passed his medical exam.
Nice did not reveal the fee paid for the 20-year-old, who made his Ligue 1 debut for Saint-Etienne as a 16-year-old, but had reportedly baulked at an asking price of 10-12 million euros.
He only made his Monaco league debut as a substitute in Friday’s 3-2 win over Toulouse having spent the previous two seasons since joining from St Etienne on loan at first Hannover in Germany and then last year at Bastia.
Brazilian Dalbert and Frenchman Valentin Eysseric are both expected to leave Nice soon for Serie A clubs -- Inter Milan and Fiorentina respectively.
Centre-back Paul Baysse has already joined Malaga in Spain with right-back Ricardo Pereira returning to Porto following a loan spell.
Meanwhile, Monaco signed Algerian attacking midfielder Rachid Ghezzal on a free transfer Monday, as coach Leonardo Jardim looks to rebuild after losing several of last season’s title-winners in the close season.
The 25-year-old, who has played 11 internationals, signed a four-year deal with the principality club after being released by Lyon at the end of last season.
His arrival bolsters Jardim’s squad as Monaco bid to retain their Ligue 1 title and replicate last term’s run to the Champions League semi-finals.
“After several seasons at Lyon, I needed a new challenge,” Ghezzal said in a statement on the Monaco website.
Ghezzal struggled slightly last season, scoring only twice in 26 league appearances, after finding the net eight times from just 16 starts the campaign before.
Monaco have lost four key players since winning the French title for the first time since 1999/2000 in May, with midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko leaving for Chelsea, full-back Benjamin Mendy and attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva joining Manchester City, and forward Valere Germain moving to Marseille.
Jardim has stuck with the tried and tested policy of signing promising youngsters, and Ghezzal is the Portuguese’s eighth close-season signing, among the likes of Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio and Belgium international Youri Tielemans.
L’AS Monaco est heureux d’annoncer la signature de Rachid Ghezzal jusqu'en 2021 ! #WelcomeToMonaco
Elsewhere, Belgian international midfielder Guillaume Gillet has signed a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee with Olympiakos, the Greek champions announced Monday.
The contract has an option for an additional year if both sides agree. Gillet, 33, has 22 appearances with the Belgian national squad, scoring one goal.
Last season he played for French side FC Nantes scoring four goals in 57 matches, having previously played for clubs including Corsican side Bastia and Anderlecht in Belgium.
“I am very happy to be here. It was a long and difficult process but I am happy that I have signed and looking forward to my new teammates and for reaching our goals,” Gillet said.
Finally, Sporting Lisbon have signed Macedonia international full back Stefan Ristovski from Croatia’s HNK Rijeka on a season-long loan, the Portuguese club said on Monday.
Ristovski, 25, joined Rijeka in 2015 following several seasons in Italy, mostly played in Serie B.
Portuguese media had reported that Sporting were poised to sign Ristovski on a five-year contract worth 2.5 million euros ($2.9 million).
HNK Rijeka won the Croatian league for the first time last season, ending Dinamo Zagreb’s run of 11 successive titles, as well as their fourth Croatian Cup.
O #SportingCP chegou a acordo com o HNK #Rijeka para o empréstimo de Stefan #Ristovski até final da época 2017/18, com opção de compra.
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