Official: Gerard Moreno joins Villarreal from Espanyol

Villarreal have confirmed the signing of Spanish forward Gerard Moreno from Espanyol for around 20 million euros. 

Moreno joins the club on five-year deal with the fee to be paid to Espanyol in installments as a deal which has been in the works for months is finally made official.  

Despite Espanyol's struggles at times last season, Moreno emerged from the campaign with his reputation boosted after scoring 19 goals in all competitions. 

An Espanyol fan, he re-joined his boyhood club from Villarreal, incidentally, three years ago and has scored 39 goals for the Pericos. 

The Catalan club will received 20 million euros for the striker, which is only 50 percent of his release fee, although that's because Villarreal maintained 50 percent of his rights. 

Villarreal will pay 12 million during the coming days, while the rest of the cash will be paid in four million installments over the next two years. 

Moreno, 26, came through Espanyol’s academy but was released in 2007, moving to fellow Catalan side Badalona. 

From there, he moved to Villarreal, where he played for the C team, B team and first team before joining Mallorca on loan in 2013. 

In 2015 he returned to Espanyol, but now finds himself heading back to Villarreal for a second spell with the Yellow Submarine.  

¡¡¡Sí, sí, sí, @GerardMoreno9 ya está aquí 💛! ¡Vamoooooos 💪! https://t.co/5pey0RZ53j pic.twitter.com/BjrxfEyrcq

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) 12 de junio de 2018