Hertha Berlin sign 2014 FIFA World Cup winner Sami Khedira
Hertha Berlin have completed the signing of 2014 FIFA World Cup-winning midfielder Sami Khedira from Juventus.
Khedira, 33, will wear the number 28 shirt in his return to the Bundesliga, following a decorated spell in Italy that yielded five Serie A titles and three Coppa Italias.
"Hertha made a lot of effort to sign me and now offer me the chance to come back to the Bundesliga," Khedira said in a statement on the club's website.
"I'm very grateful for that and I can hardly wait for the moment when I can wear the blue-and-white shirt out on the pitch for the first time. I feel good physically and I want to help the team to more sporting success with the experience I've gained over the past years."
Khedira made 145 appearances for Juventus between September 2015 and June 2020, registering 21 goals and 13 assists. His CV also includes a five-year stint at Real Madrid, during which time he helped Los Blancos win a 2011/12 La Liga-Copa del Rey double and UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup quadruple in 2014.
It was a year to savour for Khedira, who earned five of his 77 senior international caps as an integral part of Germany's triumphant World Cup squad in Brazil. He also has a Bundesliga winner's medal in his collection, having helped boyhood club VfB Stuttgart claim German club football's top prize in 2006/07.
"In Sami Khedira we're getting a top-class player who has been at several leading European clubs over the past few years," said sporting director Arne Friedrich.
"He'll be able to help us right away thanks to his experience in the Champions League, Serie A, La Liga and in the German national team."
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Khedira's last of 98 appearances to date in the German top-flight was on the final day of the 2009/10 season. His next could come as soon as 6 February, when Hertha host record champions Bayern Munich, before travelling to Stuttgart a week later. There is also the prospect of a sibling showdown with younger brother Rani, of Augsburg, in March.
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