Cameroonian midfielder Stéphane Mbia. (Photo : Getty Images)
Newly-promoted Chinese Super League team Hebei China Fortune has reportedly signed Cameroonian midfielder Stéphane Mbia to a three-year deal at an undisclosed transfer fee from Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor on Thursday.
The 29-year-old Les Lions Indomptables team captain is said to be set to receive a salary of €25 million from now until 2019 with the former China second division squad, Ghana Soccernet reports.
Mbia was acquired by Trabzonspor in July of last year via a free transfer after his deal with La Liga team Sevilla FC had expired.
The Tigers signed him to a three-year contract but he reportedly terminated it this January because of failure "to meet their contractual agreements" and also for a chance to play in the Far East Asian nation.
The Yaoundé, Cameroon native, who brings with him a wealth of experience as an international player and member of the back-to-back winning Europa League squads of the Sevillistas, is set to follow his fellow African superstars Asamoah Gyan and Gervais Yao Kouassi, or Gervinho, who have recently moved to Shanghai SIPG and also Hebei China Fortune respectively.
Mbia suited up for Sevilla from 2013-2014, on loan from the English Premier League's Queens Park Rangers, before permanently moving to Andalusia in 2014-2015. He appeared in 66 games in all competitions for Los Rojiblancos and have scored a total of 12 goals as a defensive midfielder.
He spent his early senior career years with Ligue 1 clubs Stade Rennais FC, from 2004 to 2009, and Olympique de Marseille, from 2009 to 2012, before being signed by the Hoops in August 2012.
Mbia is Hebei China Fortune's fourth international signee during this winter transfer window after Brazil's Edu, Serbia's Nenad Milijas, and Gervinho, as per Kingfut.
The Samba Kings have placed second in the China League One competitions last season with an 18-6-6 win-loss-draw record, just one point behind eventual champions Yanbian Fude FC, who was also promoted to the China top flight this season.
Another foreign player for Hebei is Norwegian striker Abdurahim Laajab, who joined the team in February 2015, totaling all the team's imports to five.
