Manchester City have completed the signing of the Argentine defender Pablo Zabaleta from Espanyol for an undisclosed fee. The 23-year-old has signed a five-year deal at Eastlands, and will further strengthen Mark Hughes's squad following the acquisition of Shaun Wright-Phillips from Chelsea on Thursday.

Zabaleta, who was part of the Argentina side that won the gold medal at the Olympic Games earlier this month, was also a target for Juventus, and Hughes was delighted to have seen off such stiff competition for his signature. "We feel the addition of Pablo is another great signing for Manchester City," Hughes said.

"He's young and a winner, with an Olympic gold medal to prove that, but more so he will provide us with great balance in the side," Hughes added. "I'm very happy to bring him here and hopefully we can get a good result at Sunderland to round off what has been a very satisfactory week indeed for us."

Zabaleta, who can play at right-back or on the right side of midfield, was delighted to sign for City, and revealed he had been particularly impressed by Hughes. "I am very happy to come here and play in the Premier League. Playing in England has been a lifelong dream which has finally come true by moving to City.

"I'd met [Hughes] previously and was really impressed with him, but having talked to him about Manchester City I had to come here and be part of his plans. I'm very confident of helping the first team to achieve their goals for the season and after walking around the Stadium I can't wait to play in front of the City fans there. It is very impressive."