FC Barcelona transfer news: Thomas Vermaelen joins Vissel Kobe on free transfer | London Evening Standard

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen joins Vissel Kobe on free transferLIVE! | The latest news and rumours from the transfer windowNew challenge: Thomas Vermaelen has joined Vissel Kobe after five years at Barcelona.AP

Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen has completed his move to Vissel Kobe on a free transfer.

The 33-year-old's contract expired at the end of June and with no fresh terms offered by the LaLiga champions, the Belgian has headed for a new challenge in the Far East.

He joins a growing contingent of former Barca players at the club, with Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Sergi Samper all plying their trade for the J1 League outfit.

The transfer was announced before Barca were due to play Vissel Kobe in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Vermaelen's time at the Camp Nou had been plagued by injury since arriving from Arsenal in 2014 and he featured just 53 times for the Catalans.

Thomas Vermaelen makes a sliding challenge on Tottenham's Heung-min Son.Getty Images

The centre-back also spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Roma but made just 12 appearances before returning to the Camp Nou.

Despite his injury problems, Vermaelen leaves Barcelona with four La Liga titles under his belt and won nine trophies in total during his five-year spell in Spain.