An emotional Joaquín has said farewell to Valencia after agreeing to join Liga rivals Málaga for a fee of around 5 million euros.
“The two entities have closed an agreement so that the player from Puerto de Santa Maria can become the seventh incorporation for next season,” Malaga said on their website. “He will complete his commitment in the coming days.”
Joaquín who moved to Valencia from Real Betis in August 2006 for a fee of around 25 million euros said:
“I want to thank Valencia, their fans and everyone who has made things happen for me at this club,” said the 29-year-old. “I’ve decided to leave because I’ve finished a cycle here. The club wanted me to stay but I had made a decision.”
Joaquin will join Argentines Diego Buonanotte and Martin Demichelis, Dutch duo Joris Mathijsen and Ruud van Nistelrooy, Spanish defender Nacho Monreal and French midfielder Jeremy Toulalan, who are all new signings at Malaga this summer.