Official: Jeremy Mathieu leaves Barça & signs for Sporting Lisbon
Mathieu joins the Portuguese club on a two-year deal
He leaves Barça after 91 appearances in three seasons
Barcelona have released Jeremy Mathieu from the last year of his contract to allow him to sign for Sporting Lisbon on a free transfer.
"FC Barcelona and Jeremy Mathieu have agreed to terminate the player's contract, after three full seasons at the club," the Catalan club said in a statement.
"FC Barcelona wishes the player the best of luck and success in his next professional step."
Sporting have since confirmed that the French defender has agreed a two-year contract with the club and his release clause has been fixed at 60 million euros.
Mathieu still had a contract with Barça until 2018 after joining from Valencia three years ago, but the club were happy to allow him to leave on a free.
The 33-year-old had joined Sporting last weekend on trial, with Barça's permission, and it hasn't taken long for them to decide to make the move permanent.
Barça's statement added: "Mathieu joined the club in the summer of 2014, with Luis Enrique taking over at the same time.
"In his stint with the club, the Frenchman won nine titles: three Copa del Rey, two La Liga titles, a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a European Super Cup and a Spanish Super Cup.
"In total, Mathieu made 91 apperances and scored four goals, three in the league and one in the cup."
