Milan Skriniar joins Paris Saint-Germain on free transfer

The Slovakia centre-back has penned a five-year deal at the Parc des Princes until the end of the 2027-28 season and has become the French champions' first signing of the summer window.

Skriniar arrives in the French capital after running down his contract with Inter, although an agreement with the 28-year-old is believed to have been in place for some time after PSG tried and failed to bring him to the club last summer.

"I am very happy to be part of this wonderful Club. PSG are one of the strongest clubs in the world with world-class players and fantastic fans," Skriniar told the official PSG website.

The former Sampdoria man arrives at PSG following a successful six-year spell with Inter, during which he was regarded as one of the best centre-backs in Europe.

Skriniar scored 11 goals and set up five more in 246 matches for the Nerazzurri, who paid €34m (£29.1m) to bring him to San Siro from Sampdoria in the summer of 2017.

The Slovakian was an integral member of Antonio Conte's 2020-21 Serie A-winning squad, while he also won two Coppa Italias and two Supercoppa Italiana crowns in Milan.

Skriniar came up with one assist in 31 games during his final season with Inter and captained the side on several occasions, despite his refusal to sign a new contract at San Siro.

However, a serious back injury plagued the 6ft 2in defender for the final few months of the season, and he was only an unused substitute in their Champions League final defeat to Manchester City.

A four-time Slovakia Player of the Year between 2019 and 2022, Skriniar has scored three goals and provided two assists in 60 games for his country, whom he has represented at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020.

The former MSK Zilina youngster is already known to new manager Luis Enrique, who was in charge of the Spain team that thumped Slovakia 5-0 during their final Euro 2020 group stage game.

Skriniar reinforces the PSG backline following the exit of Sergio Ramos, who is now a free agent after Les Parisiens decided against extending his contract beyond the end of the 2022-23 season.

The 28-year-old will compete with Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Abdou Diallo, Danilo Pereira and El Chadaille Bitshiabu for starts at PSG, who are also set to confirm two more arrivals in due course.

Marco Asensio has agreed to join the French champions on a free transfer from Real Madrid, while Manuel Ugarte has revealed that he will be leaving Sporting Lisbon for the Ligue 1 champions.

In addition, deals are believed to be close Benfica academy product Cher Ndour and Mallorca playmaker Lee Kang-in, as Enrique builds up to his first game in charge against Le Havre in a friendly on July 21.