Stoke sign ace Affelay

Afellay arrives at the Britannia Stadium after his contract with Barcelona expired over the course of the summer

Stoke have announced the signing of former Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay.

The 29-year-old has signed a two-year contract with the Barclays Premier League club and will link up with his new team-mates in France.

The club said on their Twitter feed: "#SCFC are delighted to announce the signing of Dutch international winger Ibrahim Afellay."

Afellay arrives at the Britannia Stadium after his contract with Barcelona expired over the course of the summer.

Capped 50 times by the Netherlands, he joins fellow countrymen Erik Pieters and Marco van Ginkel in the Stoke squad, along with former Barcelona team-mates Bojan Krkic, Marc Muniesa and Moha El Ouriachi.

Potters chief executive Tony Scholes told his club's official website: "It's no secret that Ibrahim was wanted by a number of clubs and we are understandably delighted that he has chosen to join us."

starting out at PSV eindhoven, Affelay then joined Barcelona, and despite winning a Champions League medal, he made just 21 league appearances for the club and had loan spells with Schalke and Olympiacos.