NEWS REPORT: The Swedish player came out of retirement two months ago to play for Rhein-Neckar Löwen again, but will move on to the French powerhouse
Kim Ekdahl du Rietz to join PSG next season
Last June, Swedish left back Kim Ekdahl du Rietz decided to take a break from handball at just 27, after five seasons with Rhein-Neckar Löwen. But in February, he made a surprise comeback at the club from Mannheim, trying to help them win their third Bundesliga title in a row.
And on Friday, Ekdahl du Rietz announced his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain Handball.
“I was really fed up with handball. I really needed to take a break and leave,” Ekdahl du Rietz says on a video posted by PSG today. “After a few months on the road, I realised a lot of things. It is good to change perspectives sometimes. And I missed handball a lot more than I thought I would, and I came back to it freely, just because I wanted to.”
Ekdahl du Rietz is the third transfer PSG have announced for next season. Earlier, the VELUX EHF Champions League Quarter-finalists, who take on PGE Vive Kielce for a place at next month's FINAL4, signed up Danish line player Henrik Toft Hansen and Spanish defender Viran Morros.
“I am joining one of the best clubs in the world with talented players and the will to win everything. It will be another adventure. Rhein-Neckar Löwen are a top club but Paris SG are even higher,” says Ekdahl du Rietz, who previously played in France with Nantes during the 2011-12 season.
He signed a two-year contract and will reinforce a position where the retreat from Daniel Narcisse will give him opportunities to play.
“He is an impact player, in another style than Mikkel Hansen and Dylan Garain,” PSG general director Jean-Claude Blanc says. “His signature will give us the opportunity to fulfil our ambitions, on home ground but also in European competitions.”
TEXT:
Kevin Domas / ew