France star Matuidi joins Juventus

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi was on Saturday transferred to Juventus FC on a three-year contract which ties him with the reigning Italian champions until June 30, 2020.

Juventus paid 20 million euros ($23.52 million) for the French international, with another 10.5 million euros ($12.35 million) in bonus, reports Xinhua news agency.

"I will always have great memories of Blaise's six seasons with our club. He's a player who played every match with generosity and a permanent desire to win everything," Paris Saint-Germain Chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi said.

"We wish him every success in his first challenge abroad and every success with the France national team in this World Cup season," Al-Khelaifi added.

Since joining in July 2011, Matuidi has played 295 games for Paris Saint-Germain, seventh overall in the club's history, scoring 33 goals and dishing out 30 assists.

He won four Ligue 1 championships, three French Cups, four French League Cups and five Super Cups for the club. Matuidi has also made 58 appearances for the French national team, scoring eight goals.

However, he failed to settle himself in head coach Unai Emery's tactical plans into this season. Paris Saint-Germain also needed to balance their finances after acquiring Neymar for a world record sum of 220 million euros ($258.72 million) in the off-season.

--IANS

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