Marseille move for Bordeaux's Diarra
Monday, July 4, 2011
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Alou Diarra has left FC Girondins de Bordeaux to sign a three-year deal at Olympique de Marseille, who have paid a reported €5m for the French international midfielder.
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Olympique de Marseille have signed Alou Diarra after paying FC Girondins de Bordeaux a fee in the region of €5m for the French international midfielder.
Diarra, who turns 30 on 15 July, passed a medical in Marseille this morning before putting pen to paper on a three-year contract. A league champion with both Olympique Lyonnais in 2007 and Bordeaux three years later, Diarra has won 34 caps for France and also counts FC Louhans-Cuiseaux, FC Bayern München, Le Havre AC, SC Bastia and RC Lens among his former clubs.
"He will bring us what we missed last year: physical presence," said Marseille's sporting director José Anigo of Diarra, who leaves Bordeaux after four seasons. "He has power and is one of the leaders of the national team. An intelligent player with lots of experience – everything needed to push the team forward."
Diarra joins Morgan Amalfitano, Jérémy Morel and Nicolas Nkoulou as the summer's new arrivals at the Stade Véldrome. Second in Ligue 1 last term, Marseille will enter the UEFA Champions League in the group stage.
