Valencia sign Uruguay striker Maxi Gomez

Madrid (AFP) – Uruguayan international Maxi Gomez has joined Valencia from Celta Vigo, the promising striker’s new La Liga club announced on Sunday.

“I’m very happy to come to Valencia, it’s a very big club,” the 22-year-old told the club website. “It’s very nice to be able to play Champions League. I dreamed of that as a kid.”

Valencia released a statement saying Gomez had signed a five-year contract with a 140 million euro ($158 million) release clause.

Neither club gave details of the fee or Gomez’s salary but reports estimated that Valencia had paid an initial 14.5 million euros and that fellow striker Santi Mina, who began his career in Vigo before moving to Valencia, would return to Celta.

Gomez spent the last two seasons with Celta, scoring 31 goals in 75 games. He has played 12 times for Uruguay, making two appearances off the bench in last year’s World Cup. He was part of the national squad in the recent Copa America but did not play.