Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has completed a return to his boyhood club Cardiff on a two-year contract.
Ramsey made 22 appearances for the Bluebirds as a teenager and six more on loan from Arsenal in 2011 and remains their youngest ever player.
Having played for them in the 2008 FA Cup final, he went on to win the competition three times with the Gunners and added a Serie A title and a Coppa Italia with Juventus and a Scottish Cup on loan at Rangers before joining Nice.
It’s an unbelievable feeling to be back at home- although I feel as if I never really left. Where ever I went it was always a part of me and now I can’t wait to go out there in the blue shirt again. What makes it even better was my boy also signed for Cardiff academy the same… pic.twitter.com/FaxcRgwvpH
— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) July 15, 2023
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He has played in Europa League finals with Arsenal, for whom he made over 350 appearances, and Rangers and for Wales at two European Championships and a World Cup.
Ramsey told Cardiff’s website: “It feels unbelievable to finally be back here. I always thought one day I’d come back, and now it’s the perfect time to do that.
“To be back with my family and around familiar faces is just brilliant, so I’m delighted to be back here now. I’ve missed that a lot in the last year or so, so it was important for me to be back around them.
“Obviously I’m a Cardiff City fan and watching them over the years since I’ve been away, we’ve had some low points but some big highs as well, being in the Premier League and representing Cardiff on the big stage. That’s a target of mine – to try and help my team-mates and this club to get back to the top.
“I owe so much to Cardiff, to the fans, to everybody who has been at the club when I was here as a young boy coming through. For me now to come full circle, to be part of this team now, and hopefully achieve the goals we want, there’s no better feeling than that.”
Ramsey’s seven-year-old son Sonny has also joined Cardiff’s academy, signing his contract alongside his father.