West Ham have confirmed the signing of Pablo Zabaleta on a free transfer following his release from Manchester City.
The right-back has put pen to paper on a two-year contract, believed to be worth about £90,000 a week. It makes Zabaleta, 32, the first major summer signing of Slaven Bilic.
Zabaleta’s arrival will push Sam Byram down the pecking order while forgotten man Alvaro Arbeloa is set to leave the club.
We hope so too, @Pablo_Zabaleta! 👌#WelcomeZabaleta pic.twitter.com/j02Mn7sTY8
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) May 26, 2017
‘This is an absolute pleasure to be part of West Ham United Football Club,’ Zabaleta told West Ham TV. ‘I hope I can give you good moments.
‘Of course, I come to the club to enjoy myself and hopefully we can have a very successful time.
‘Sometimes a new challenge is all you need as a person and as a player. I thought my time at City was done. It’s been a fantastic nine years, absolutely brilliant.
‘Manchester City gave me the opportunity to come to this wonderful league, the Premier League, something I’ve been enjoying a lot as a player and of course for me it was probably the right time to move on.
‘lso, as a player, I thought I wanted to keep playing in the Premier League.
‘For me, after being in this country for so long, this is a new challenge for me in the Premier League and I’m ready for it and looking forward to it.’
Zabaleta joined City from Espanyol in 2008 and made more than 300 appearances for City, winning two Premier League titles and an FA Cup.
Culled from Mail
