West Ham United have announced the signing of right-back Pablo Zabaleta on a free transfer following his release from Manchester City.
A club statement read:
"West Ham United are proud and delighted to announce Pablo Zabaleta as the Club’s first signing of the summer.
The highly-decorated and hugely-experienced Argentina international full-back will join the Hammers on a two-year deal on 1 July, when his contract with Manchester City expires.
A fine defender and respected leader, Zabaleta won two Premier League titles and four other trophies during nine outstanding seasons with the Citizens.
Now, he is hoping to bring his wide-ranging and undoubted qualities to London Stadium, where is looking forward to starting a new and successful chapter in his storied career in Claret and Blue
“This is an absolute pleasure to be part of West Ham United Football Club,” Zabaleta told West Ham TV, while revealing he turned down offers from leading clubs in Italy, Spain and England to join the Hammers. “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.
“Also, 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.”
Born in the town of Arrecifes, 110 miles north west of Buenos Aires, Pablo Zabaleta joined the capital city’s San Lorenzo club at the age of 12.
There, he racked up nearly 100 appearances by the age of 20, earning a move to the relative riches of Spanish football and Barcelona-based Espanyol in 2005.
A year later, Zabaleta lifted the Copa del Rey, and two further successful seasons in La Liga caught the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs. In August 2008, he chose to move to Manchester City over Italian giants Juventus, citing the lure of the Premier League as his major motivation.
A day later, City were taken over by new Abu Dhabi-based owners and the South American quickly established himself as a key figure in Mark Hughes’ new-look side.
The versatile Zabaleta retained his starting place under Roberto Mancini, scoring the opening goal in the vital 3-2 final-day win over Queens Park Rangers that brought a first Premier League title to the club in 2012.
Two years later, he missed just three Premier League matches as City were crowned champions for a second time. He leaves the Etihad Stadium having made 332 appearances and scored eleven goals for the Citizens.
At international level, Zabaleta captained Argentina to FIFA World Youth Championship glory in 2005, won Olympic Gold in Beijing in 2008 and has appeared at two Copa America and one FIFA World Cup finals. In all, he has 58 caps for his country."