Qatari side Al-Ahli have confirmed the signing of Germany international Julian Draxler on a permanent deal from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 29-year-old bids farewell to the French champions following a five-year stay at the Parc des Princes, during which he made 198 appearances for the French giants.
PSG are believed to have received between €8m (£6.9m) and €9m (£7.8m) for the sale of Draxler, who has penned a two-year deal with Al-Ahli until the summer of 2025.
Draxler rose to prominence during his time in the Bundesliga with Schalke and Wolfsburg, and he was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal before joining PSG in a deal worth €36m (£31.1m) in January 2017.
The German quickly became a regular starter in the Parisiens' XI, but he soon fell down the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino and was not helped by several niggling injury problems.
Draxler was restricted to just five starts in the 2021-22 season, and he was loaned out to Benfica for the most recent campaign following Christophe Galtier's arrival to the Parisian hotseat.
📸: Julian #Draxler is a new player of Al-Ahli SC 🇶🇦
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) September 18, 2023
Contract until 2025 ✍️@SkySportDE 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/bZQvTaYemC
While on the books with the Eagles, Draxler scored twice in 18 matches and helped the club win the Primeira Liga title, but he was plagued by fitness problems once again and missed the final few months of the season due to an ankle operation.
With PSG revitalising their attacking ranks under Luis Enrique, Draxler was never expected to reignite his career with the French champions and would have been able to leave as a free agent in 2024.
Given his hefty wage packet, a move to the Middle East was considered the most realistic outcome, but the attacker was apparently stalling over leaving Europe due to family reasons.
However, Draxler eventually agreed to join Al-Ahli and becomes the second long-serving PSG player to swap France for Qatar this summer, following Al Arabi-bound Marco Verratti to the Persian Gulf.
Draxler ends his PSG career with 26 goals and 41 assists under his belt for the capital giants, winning four Ligue 1 titles, four Coupe de Frances, three Coupe de la Ligues and four Trophee des Champions.
The 29-year-old was a part of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning squad, but he has not played for Die Mannschaft since a pair of friendlies against Israel and the Netherlands in March 2022.
