Sports

Stambouli leaves Spurs to join PSG on five-year deal

Stambouli leaves Spurs to join PSG on five-year deal

By REUTERS

Tottenham Hotspur's Benjamin Stambouli (L) celebrates after scoring a goal against Partizan Belgrade during their Europa League soccer match at White Hart Lane in London November 27, 2014. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/Files

LONDON: Defensive midfielder Benjamin Stambouli has left Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur to join Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, the French champions said on Tuesday. The 24-year-old made 12 appearances after joining Spurs last September from Montpellier. 'I wasn't necessarily planning to leave the Premier League after one year but when a club with the stature of Paris Saint-Germain calls you, it makes your choice a lot easier,' Stambouli said in a statement from PSG. The former France under-21 player was a member of the Montpellier squad that won the Ligue 1 title in 2012. PSG paid a fee of about six million pounds ($9.35 million) for Stambouli, according to British media reports. 'He is a French player who has already proved the impact that he can make in midfield both athletically and technically,' PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said. 'France is going to rediscover a player that was full of promises when he was playing in Ligue 1.'