Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has joined newly-promoted Italian Serie A side Cesena from rivals Bologna.

The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal with the option of another year if the club stays in the top flight.

“I’m happy with the agreement with Cesena because they showed how much they wanted me to join them when we started negotiating,” Appiah said.

“It’s a new start for me although it’s still in Italy. They have a project which I’m happy to be part of.

“I’ve met the management of Cesena and assured them I’ll give it 100%.”

Appiah, who played for the Black Stars at the World Cup in June, left Bologna last month after just six months due to differences over a new contract.

Despite failing to extend his contract with Bologna, Appiah is grateful to the club for giving him the opportunity to revive his career after a long injury lay-off.

“I’d like to thank the management, players and supporters of Bologna for giving me a chance to get back into football after my long absence.

“It wasn’t easy but they gave me a chance and although I didn’t feature much for them, they allowed me to get back into the swing of things.”

Cesena is the sixth Italian club Appiah has signed for, having also played for Udinese, Parma, Brescia, Juventus and Bologna.

The only club outside Italy the Black Stars captain has played for is Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Hearts of Oak in Ghana.

He fell out with Fenerbahce after a botched knee surgery and the Turkish giants reported him to Fifa for abandoning his contract.

The world governing body ruled in favour of Fenerbahce last year but CAS overturned the decision two months ago which allowed the midfielder to move to Cesena as a free agent.