16.07.2008 19:55
Hleb signs four-year deal
www.fcbarcelona.cat
Aleksandr Hleb has put pen-to-paper on a four-year contract with FC Barcelona on Wednesday afternoon after joining the club from Arsenal and became the fifth new arrival of the summer.
The 27-year-old signed the deal that ties him to the Blaugrana until 2012 on the same day that he
arrived in the Ciutat Contal and underwent a rigorous medical exam at the club.
President Joan Laporta and Hleb sealed the agreement shortly before 8pm local time in the
offices of the club and prepared for the presentation to the media shortly afterwards.
€90m buy-out clause
The price of the transfer was agreed at €15m between FC Barcelona and Arsenal, with a
further €2m depending on the number of trophies the player wins during his time at the club.
The fee of the buy-out clause in his contract stands at €90m.
Three years in London
Hleb arrived in Barcelona from Arsenal after spending three seasons with coach Arsène Wenger
at the north London club, where he was a regular fixture in the side.
After starting his career with BATE Borisov in Belorussia, Hleb moved to VfB Stuttgart in the
Bundesliga in 2001 and impressed enough to earn himself a move to the Gunners.
Alongside Gaudino
Throughout his medical and introduction, Hleb was accompanied by his agent, Maurizio Gaudino, who
was once a player with Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bochum, among others. Despite being of
Italian origin, he was a member of the German World Cup squad in 1994.