Wilfried Bony has signed for Saudi side Al Ittihad


Former Swansea forward Wilfried Bony has ended his exile from football after signing for Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad.

The 31-year-old had been without a club for six months after leaving the Liberty Stadium last summer and joins his new team on a free transfer.

The ex-Manchester City star spent half of last season in the Middle East, joining Qatari outfit Al-Arabi on loan last January - scoring five goals in seven games.

Bony was pictured smiling with club officials as he was officially unveiled as a new player in a post on social media. The Ivorian held up his new shirt and posed for photos as he pointed to his new badge.

'This is a good chance to compete for something with a traditional club like this and I feel excited about this,' he said.

The last time Bony played came in July, when he featured at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for his country the Ivory Coast.

In his prime Bony was a feared frontman in the Premier League, and his first season in England saw him net 25 goals after signing from Dutch outfit Vitesse in 2013.

His imperious form earned him a move to Man City, but he struggled to reproduce his goal-scoring feats and was sent on loan to Stoke. However, he was never quite the same player and failed to hit the mark when he returned to the Swans in 2017.

His fall from grace saw him training with League Two outfit Newport County as he tried to keep fit, and was also on trial with Ligue 2 French side Le Havre.

Bony made a total of 141 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 48 times and winning the League Cup with Man City in 2015-16.


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