Real Sociedad confirmed on their website on Tuesday that an agreement is now in place for the transfer of Cristian Portugues, “Portu” from Girona.
The agreement is said to be in the region of around £9m and the player has signed a contract until 30th June 2024. Portu will join the club officially when the transfer window reopens on 1st July.
Frustration in Valencia
Portu, who is now 27 years old, began his career with Valencia but he struggled to make an impact with Los Che. He only ever got onto the pitch for the first team twice and spent the majority of his time there playing for Valencia Mestella in the Segunda B.
Portu left Valencia in 2014, signing for Albacete Balompie. He spent two years with the Queso Mecanico, scoring six goals in each season but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the Segunda and after relegation in 2015/16 he moved to Girona.
Promotion with Girona
Portu was excellent as Girona were promoted in 2016/17 scoring eight and assisting eight before carrying that form into the top flight with 20 goals and nine assists in two seasons with the Blanquivermells.
Unfortunately for both Portu and Girona, the club was unable to maintain their top-flight status and he has now become the first of quite a few players who are expected to leave the club this summer.
Portu becomes La Real’s fourth signing of the summer. The Basque club has already signed Alexander Isak from Borussia Dortmund, Modibo Sagnan from Lens and Alex Remiro from Athletic Club. Isak and Sagnan are both very young so Portu’s experience should come in useful to a squad that finished ninth in La Liga last season.
The addition of Portu should help Real Sociedad add more goals to their tea. He can play as an attacking midfielder or a right-winger so his creativity and ability to score goals himself should help his new club push forward to compete for the European spots that the fans will believe they should be in every season.