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João Pereira swaps Sporting for Valencia

Thursday, May 24, 2012

"I'm thrilled to have reached an agreement with such a great club," said Portugal full-back João Pereira after making a €3.6m switch from Sporting Clube de Portugal to Valencia CF.

João Pereira is preparing for Portugal's UEFA EURO 2012 campaign
João Pereira is preparing for Portugal's UEFA EURO 2012 campaign ©Getty Images

Valencia CF have moved to strengthen their squad by completing the signing of full-back João Pereira from Sporting Clube de Portugal for a reported fee of €3.6m.

The 28-year-old took a break from Portugal’s UEFA EURO 2012 preparations in order to pen a three-year deal - that could run to four campaigns - with the Spanish Liga side.

"I'm thrilled to have reached an agreement with a great club like Valencia and am happy in the knowledge that I am going to play in such a competitive and demanding league as the Spanish Liga," said the defender, who made 61 league appearances and scored three goals after joining Sporting in January 2010.

A product of SL Benfica's youth academy, Pereira played for Gil Vicente FC and SC Braga before joining Sporting in 2009. The right-sided player, who helped Sporting reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals this season, has been capped 13 times by Portugal and aims to help Paulo Bento's side negotiate their way through a tricky UEFA EURO 2012 section.

Portugal open their tournament against Germany on 9 June, meet Denmark four days later and conclude their Group B fixtures by taking on the Netherlands on 17 June.

Valencia, who recently announced the arrival of coach Mauricio Pellegrino, will enter next season's UEFA Champions League at the group stage after finishing the 2011/12 Liga campaign in third place.

© 1998-2024 UEFA. All rights reserved. Last updated: Thursday, May 24, 2012

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