PSG bolster defence with Belgian star Meunier

Paris (AFP) – French champions Paris Saint Germain have fought off rivals across Europe to snap up giant Belgian international defender Thomas Meunier from FC Bruges, the Qatar-backed club said on Sunday.

The 6ft 3in (1.9m) right-back, 24, who featured twice for Belgium at Euro 2016, has signed a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

“I’m honoured to have been chosen by PSG, with all their great players,” Meunier, who has 12 Belgium caps, told his new club’s website.

PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said the defender was just the type of ambitious player he wanted as the club go in search of progress in the Champions League.

“Thomas drew a large interest from many of Europe’s top clubs resulting from winning the Belgian championship this past season as well as playing with the Belgian national team,” he said 

“He has made the strong choice of joining Paris Saint Germain, a club with whom he will now share his great ambitions.”

Earlier Sunday, Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak also signed for PSG in a deal worth around 26 million euros ($28.9m), after previously playing for new coach Unai Emery at Sevilla.

Paris have also recruited 29-year-old attacking midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa from Nice.

Emery took over last week from Laurent Blanc, who won the domestic treble in each of his last two seasons but it was his failure to make substantial progress in the Champions League that proved his undoing.