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Only on Tuesday, the French defender Sylvain Distin, leaving the team, became a free agent for just one day. As expected, he moved to another English Premier League club, with which he signed a three-year contract.
The 29-year-old footballer, who arrived at "Man City" in 2002 from the French capital's "P.S.G" club for £4 million, was the captain of the Manchester team last season and played only one championship match, managing to score two goals.
After finishing a five-year career at "City", S.Distin signed a three-year contract with "Pompey" and should earn £40,000 sterling per week.
The defender rejected the possibility of extending or joining elsewhere, and wants to fight for a place in the main "Pompey" team with former long-time defender Sol Campbell and one of the club's most consistent players this season, Linvoy Primus.
"It was a tough decision to leave the "Man City" team, but I'm happy that I endured it," said S.Distin. – "When you become a free agent, you receive a lot of different offers, but this is the one I wanted to accept."
Portsmouth's head coach Harry Redknapp was linked to this player a year ago when his contract was still valid with the "City" club, and he was pleased to have him in the team, which also hoped to acquire this defender.
"Before, I had tried several times to attract Sylvain Distin and frankly, I was very worried when I heard that Liverpool also expressed interest in him," said "Pompey" strategist H.Redknapp. – "But luckily we reached an agreement with Sylvain and I am extremely pleased that he will play for our team. Last year, we wanted to buy him from "Man City" for £5 million, so getting him for free is a great deal for the club."
In addition, the coach denied all rumors that the future of another defensive pillar, S.Campbell, at the club is unclear, despite the fact that S.Distin will be playing there.
"Absolutely not. Sol is very important to our team. His contract expires only next year, so he is not going anywhere," said H.Redknapp. – "Actually, I will try to quickly buy another defender, because there must be competition for a place in the team. The Premier League championship becomes tougher and tougher every season, and if you don't try to change anything and stand still, you will fall down."
