France international forward Hatem Ben Arfa has signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain from Ligue 1 rivals Nice, the French champions announced Friday. “Paris Saint-Germain is happy to announce the signing of Hatem Ben Arfa’s contract until June 30, 2018,” the club said on its Twitter account. The former Lyon, Marseille and Newcastle player becomes the club’s first recruit since Spanish coach Unai Emery replaced Laurent Blanc this week. Both Emery and Ben Arfa will be officially presented by the club at their Parc des Princes ground on Monday by the club’s Qatari owner Nasser al-Khelaifi. Ben Arfa, 29, missed out on Didier Deschamps’ Euro 2016 squad, and was available on a free transfer after his contract with Nice expired this summer. “Paris Saint-Germain has always had a special place in my heart and wearing this jersey at the Parc des Princes is a childhood dream,” said Ben Arfa, who comes from Clamart on the outskirts of Paris. “I’d like to thank Nice, who enabled me to refind pleasure in playing football and to show the French public what I’m capable of on the pitch.” Ben Arfa moves to the French capital after a 17-goal haul last season which inspired Nice into a club-best third in the Ligue 1 table. At Nice, under the south coast club’s then coach Claude Puel, he shed his badboy image forged by various run-ins with former coaches. He had a largely disappointing spell in England with Newcastle and a loan spell with Hull City followed by six months out of the game in 2015 before his career-boosting move to Nice. Hia arrival came the day after PSG's out of contract Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/sport/english-premier-league/time-to-let-the-world-know-zlatan-ibrahimovic-announces-move-to-manchester-united">announced he was joining Manchester United</a>. Ben Arfa is the first signing of new coach Emery, who was named on Tuesday as the man to finally achieve PSG’s long quest for Uefa Champions League success. Emery terminated his contract with Sevilla this month, having guided the Spanish side to three successive Europa League titles. Ben Arfa signed for the four-time French champions after reported interest from Barcelona, Sevilla, and one of his former teams, Lyon. He made his debut for Lyon at just 17-years-old in 2004 and went on to play 91 times for the club, winning four straight Ligue 1 titles. He moved from there to Marseille in 2008, switching to Newcastle three years later. <strong>Follow us on Twitter </strong><a href="https://twitter.com/NatSportUAE">@NatSportUAE</a> <strong>Like us on Facebook at</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheNationalSport/">facebook.com/TheNationalSport</a>
