Soccer-Japan's Kagawa joins Real Zaragoza from Borussia Dortmund

Japan international midfielder Shinji Kagawa has joined Spanish second-tier outfit Real Zaragoza after seven years at Borussia Dortmund in two spells, the Bundesliga side said on Friday. Kagawa, who won the Bundesliga with Dortmund in 2011 and 2012, had a two-year spell at Manchester United from 2012-14 before returning to the Ruhr valley club.

The 30-year-old struggled for playing time under coach Lucien Favre last season, joining Turkey's Besiktas on loan in January, and decided to continue his career in Spain after signing a two-year deal https://www.realzaragoza.com/noticias/acuerdo-con-el-borussia-dortmund-para-el-traspaso-de-shinji-kagawa. "Shinji... is a true professional and an outstanding person who will have in Dortmund a second home forever and a lot of friends," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sports director Michael Zorc said in a statement https://www.bvb.de/News/Uebersicht/Shinji-Kagawa-wechselt-zu-Real-Saragossa on the club's website.

"It was his great wish to play in Spain. We obviously met that wish." Kagawa played 216 matches for Dortmund in all competitions, scoring 60 goals and providing 55 assists.