Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez has joined Qatari side Al Gharafa for over €7million, the Ligue 1 club have announced.
The 30-year-old joined Lyon in 2009 from Porto as a replacement for Real Madrid-bound Karim Benzema and has since forged a strong link with the club's fans.
A statement on olweb.fr read: "Olympique Lyonnais announce the transfer of Argentina international Lisandro Lopez to Al Gharafa for a net fee of 7.2million euros. The club accepted this transfer at the request of the player as president Jean-Michel Aulas had promised to respect whatever new direction he wanted in his career, given his professionalism, all he has brought to the club and the respect he has always shown to Lyon and their supporters."
Lisandro scored 82 goals in 168 appearances for the club, including the only goal of the 2012 Coupe de France final against amateur side US Quevilly. He was named Ligue 1 player of the year in 2010.
The club's statement continued: "Olympique Lyonnais thank Lisandro Lopez for his efforts in his Lyon career, respect the personal reasons that led him to ask for a transfer and would like to underline his decision to no longer play in France so he did not have to play against OL.
"As he has promised, Lisandro Lopez will be at the Stade de Gerland tomorrow to salute and thank the Lyon fans."
Départ de #Lisandro, communiqué officiel : http://t.co/5iUtJ0ISeN #mercato
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) August 9, 2013
