Marseille confirm deal for Barrada

Sport360 staff 20:17 12/08/2014
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  • Time's up: Abdelaziz Barrada ends a 12-month spell in the UAE by moving to Marseille.

    Morocco midfielder Abdelaziz Barrada is set to join Marseille after they agreed terms with UAE-based Al Jazira, the French club has announced.

    Barrada, 25, scored 15 goals in 34 appearances for Al Jazira last season following his arrival from Spanish side Getafe in July 2013 for a fee in the region of $10m (Dhs36.7m).

    Both Marseille and Porto had made moves for the Moroccan but the former have won the race to the player's signature. 

    River Plate playmaker Manuel Lanzini was brought into the capital club last week as a replacement for Barrada and will shape a new look front line for the capital club alongside Jonathan Pitroipa and Mirko Vucinic.

    Barrada has been drafted in by Marseille to fill the shoes of France star Mathieu Valbuena, who bid a tearful farewell to the Stade Velodrome after agreeing a lucrative move to Russian’s Dynamo Moscow following his exploits at the 2014 World Cup.

    Barrada follows fellow foreigners Shin Hyung-Min and Felipe Caicedo out of Jazira this summer, with Brazilian midfielder Jucilei filling the former’s Asian-player quota spot after acquiring Palestinian citizenship.

    Meanwhile, Barrada becomes Marseille's third signing of the transfer window after the arrival of French midfielder Romain Alessandrini and young Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi.

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