Gerard to Espanyol: OFFICIAL

The first official news of the day: Gerard Moreno has joined Espanyol.  Villarreal's official site says simply we retained 50% of his rights, and we wish him well in his new adventure.

Espanyol confirm the 50% clause, and add his medical is scheduled for Friday morning and he will be presented to the press and public as an Espanyol player later that day assuming no medical problems (very unlikely, since he's been playing for us all summer).

Gerard has taken leave of everyone with a very nice tweet in which he thanks everyone for their support throughout the years.  He is "returning home" to Espanyol, and we are sorry to lose him.

GRACIAS pic.twitter.com/jgvfkX02uA

— Gerard Moreno (@GerardMoreno9) August 13, 2015

Javi Mata tweeted it's the saddest departure since Santi Cazorla's....but, unlike Cazorla, we could see Gerard back someday.  I doubt that means we have a repurchase option, but we might have kept in the clause that requires Espanyol to sell him if a certain level of offer is made.

UPDATE: Victor Franch (Vila-real journalist, usually a reliable source) says we negotiated a right of first refusal in the event Espanyol receives a purchase offer down the line.

Good luck, Gerard, play well against 18 clubs in the league, but not against us!!