Melbourne Victory is delighted to confirm it has signed Spanish defensive midfielder Raul Baena on a one-year loan deal from Granada CF, subject to the completion of a medical.
Baena graduated from the famed Barcelona youth academy in 2007 and moved to La Liga side Espanyol where he made his senior debut.
He spent four years at the Catalan club and played under current Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino before making the switch to Madrid-based Rayo Vallecano.
After featuring in more than 150 La Liga games, Baena captained Segunda Division team Granada CF during the 2017/18 season.
Baena is the fourth visa player to join the reigning Hyundai A-League Champions, along with Keisuke Honda, Ola Toivonen and Georg Niedermeier.
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Head Coach Kevin Muscat was thrilled to have secured yet another experienced international player.
“Raul is a very well-rounded midfielder who also has great leadership qualities,” Muscat said.
“He is the kind of player who can control the tempo of a game with his work rate and passing.
“I’m really pleased to have locked in so many quality additions with time to integrate them into the playing group.
“We identified the key areas of the side that we wanted to bolster and worked diligently to bring in players of a high calibre.”
Baena will link up with his Melbourne Victory teammates next week.