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Struggling Japanese J-League side Vissel Kobe have announced the signing of experienced Belgian international defender Thomas Vermaelen from FC Barcelona.
33 year old Antwerp-born Thomas Vermaelen played for Germinal Ekeren and Germinal Beerschot in Belgium before signing for Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam, where he also made his senior debut.
After nine years at Ajax, Vermaelen moved to Arsenal FC in 2009. After five years at the Gunners, Vermaelen was signed by FC Barcelona but at the LaLiga giants, he spend most of his time out with injuries, spending also a season on loan at AS Roma in the 2016/17 season.
Now Vermaelen moves to Vissel Kobe, where he will have numerous FIFA World Cup winners as team mates in Andres Iniesta and David Villa of Spain besides Lukas Podolski of Germany.
On signing for Vissel Kobe, Thomas Vermaelen said, “First I would like to say thank you. I am grateful for this occasion and am excited about what is coming. I received a very warm welcome here and tons of support. I cannot wait to get started. It is an exciting feeling. I will play my part to make this team better. I will give everything. All I do will be to help the team. Hopefully we can all work together to make Vissel Kobe better.”
