The 29-year-old has left Barcelona to join Stoke City on a two-year contract
Afellay has joined Stoke City Football Club after his contract at Barcelona expired over the summer.
The Dutchman becomes the club’s eighth close season signing and the fourth ex-Barcelona man to move to the Britannia stadium, along with Bojan, Marc Muniesa and Moha.
Afellay completed his medical yesterday and has now flown to France to join the Potters’ training camp before potentially playing some part in this weekend’s Colonia Cup competition in Germany.
Stoke Chief Executive Tony Scholes expressed his joy at securing Afellay’s services and admitted there were a number of offers on the table.
“It’s no secret that Ibrahim was wanted by a number of clubs and we are understandably delighted that he has chosen to join us.
“The fact that he knows so many players who are already at the Club will no doubt help him settle into his new surroundings” said Scholes.
Previous clubs
He began his career with PSV Eindhoven, where he played 159 games and scored 35 goals whilst securing four Eredivisie titles.
In January 2011, he completed a €3million move to Barcelona, agreeing a four-and-a-half-year contract and won several trophies, including the Champions League in the same year.
However, when the then Barca manager Tito Villanova admitted Afellay would not be a regular feature, the winger decide to join Schalke on a season-long loan.
Injuries plagued the Dutchman and he only played ten games for the Bundesliga, scoring just the two goals before joining Greek side Olympacios on loan the following season.
Written by Jack Wynne – @JackRobertWynne
