The San Jose Earthquakes announced Tuesday that the club has signed former AC Ajaccio captain Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, pending receipt of his ITC and P-1 visa.
Per league and team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. A team official told MLSsoccer.com on Monday that the two sides had come to terms on the deal.
“We had the opportunity to watch Jean-Baptiste play in France and met him in his hometown,” Earthquakes head coach Mark Watson said in a statement. “He’s excited to come to play in the United States and knows a lot about our team already. He has a great character and has been playing in a top league in Europe for a number of years. We look forward to having him in San Jose.”
Pierazzi, 28, has been with AC Ajaccio (France) since 2006. The native Corsican helped L’ours earn promotion to Ligue 1 after a second-place finish in the second division in 2010-11. He has made 67 appearances over the last two-and-a-half seasons as a center midfielder for AC Ajaccio.
“Jean-Baptiste is somebody who we’ve followed closely over the last year. Both Mark [Watson] and I were able to see him play in person and get to know him off the field,” Earthquakes general manager John Doyle said in a statement. “He’s a talented player, a leader and he’s going to have an excellent MLS career.”
