Rio de Janeiro July 26 (IANS) French top division football club LOSC Lille have announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Thiago Maia ending weeks of speculation about the 20-year-old s future.
Maia agreed to a five-year deal with the French Ligue 1 side who reportedly paid 14 million euros to secure him from Brazil s Santos reports Xinhua news agency.
"I worked hard to be able to achieve my goal of playing in Europe " Maia said during his official presentation on Tuesday.
"I m honored to have this opportunity. I have discussed this a lot with my family and we agreed that Lille would be the best place to develop learn and progress. I m very proud to have come here."
Lille are said to have beaten off interest in Maia from Juventus Inter Milan Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
The Brazil under 23 international is the fourth Brazilian in Lille s squad joining left back Caju forward Luiz Araujo and midfielder Thiago Mendes.
--IANS
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