
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - RB Leipzig v Sporting CP - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - January 22, 2025 RB Leipzig's Xavi Simons during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
(Reuters) - Attacking midfielder Xavi Simons has signed for RB Leipzig on a permanent deal after an 18-month loan spell at the Bundesliga team from Paris St Germain, the two clubs said on Thursday.
The Netherlands international has signed a contract at Leipzig until 2027. Media reports said the deal was worth over 50 million euros ($52.19 million) plus significant add-ons.
"I have always emphasised that I feel very much at home in Leipzig and am honoured by the great appreciation I receive at the club," Simons said in a statement shared by Leipzig.
Simons joined PSG as a youth player in 2019 after seven years at Barcelona. He made his senior debut at the French club in 2021, and moved to PSV Eindhoven the next year, before returning to PSG in 2023.
PSG sent Simons on a loan to Leipzig shortly after his return.
The 21-year-old has also made 24 appearances for the Netherlands, and helped Leipzig win the German Super Cup in 2023. He has made 60 appearances for Leipzig over the last two seasons, scoring 15 goals.
"We want to qualify for the Champions League for the seventh time in a row and travel to Berlin in the (German) Cup, that's all that matters now," Simons added.
Leipzig are in the German Cup quarter-finals and sit fifth in the Bundesliga, trailing fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart on goal difference as they look to secure a top-four finish and Champions League qualification.
($1 = 0.9581 euros)
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)