Argentine Larrivey finally joins Bani Yas

ABU DHABI - Larrivey made 35 appearances for Celta Vigo and scored 11 goals last season.

By KT Report

Published: Thu 23 Jul 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Thu 23 Jul 2015, 2:13 PM

The Joaquin Larrivey transfer saga has finally ended. After being linked to a host of Arabian Gulf League clubs, the Argentine striker has put pen to paper with Bani Yas.
The 30-year-old inked a two-year deal reportedly worth $2.1 million after passing a medical in Barcelona. Larrivey joins from La Liga side Celta Vigo.
"Bani Yas club announces contract with Joaquin Larrivey for two seasons," the club confirmed on their official Twitter account.
Larrivey joins Australian international Mark Milligan at the Sky Blues. Bani Yas are currently in The Netherlands on a pre-season training camp before they make a trip to Spain.
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues have also signed three Emirati players Thamer Mohammed, Mohammad Al Naqbi and Adel Fadaq. Thamer Mohammed joins from Al Wasl, while goalkeepers Al Naqbi and Fadaq have made the move from Al Shabab and Al Wahda respectively.
Larrivey, who has also played for Rayo Vallecano, was previously linked to Dubai clubs Al Wasl and Al Nasr as well as Al Ahli. He was close to moving to newly-promoted English Premier League club Norwich City after completing a medical but the deal didn't go through.
Larrivey made 35 appearances for Celta Vigo and scored 11 goals last season. Larrivey is the sixth player to leave Celta Vigo this summer following the departures of Krohn-Dehli, Alex Lopez, Santiago Mina, Charles, Samuel Llorca and Borja Oubina, who retired to join the club's coaching staff.
Meanwhile, Bani Yas's deal with Michiel Kramer seems to have fallen through. The Dutch striker had arrived in Abu Dhabi earlier this month to sign a three-year deal and replace Denis Stracqualursi.
But news reports suggest that the ADO Den Haag player will not be coming to Abu Dhabi. "We set Baniyas SC a clear deadline by which they must meet our conditions. That deadline has now expired and therefore we have pulled the plug. ADO Den Haag must also continue and in two weeks' time, our competition starts. And we wanted clarity," ADO Den Haag's director, Jan Willem Wigt told omroepwest.nl.
james@khaleejtimes.com