Former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song has joined Swiss Super League side, FC Sion, signing a two-year deal.
The ex-Barcelona man had been a free agent since January after he left Russian side, Rubin Kazan. But having had a trial with the Swiss side, Song has put pen to paper on a two-year deal, with the club saying the 30-year-old brings “vast experience to a young squad”.
On 20 August 2012, Song signed a five-year contract with Barcelona for a £15 million transfer fee. He made his Barcelona debut against Real Madridin the 2012 Supercopa de España on 29 August 2012 as a substitute for the last 15 minutes, finishing the match with a perfect passing statistic. He played 20 matches in Barcelona’s La Liga-winning campaign in his first season, and scored one goal, in a 3–1 home win against Real Zaragoza on 17 November 2012.
Song was an unused substitute in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final, which Barcelona lost 2–1 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla Stadium.
In August 2014, Song was subject to transfer speculation linking him with a season long loan deal to Liverpool.
On 30 August 2014, Song joined West Ham United on a season-long loan. He was unveiled to the fans on the same day before their home game against Southampton. Song made his debut against Hull City as a second-half substitute on 15 September 2014 in a 2–2 draw. He played 31 games for West Ham including three in the FA Cup Praised for his early season form, his performances deteriorated towards the end of the season as West Ham’s form also slumped. In August 2015, West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan, announced an agreement with Barcelona to sign Song on a three-year permanent contract subject to a medical.His season-long loan to West Ham was confirmed on 1 September with West Ham having the option to extend the loan for a further season.
On 21 July 2016, Rubin Kazan reached an agreement to sign Song from Barcelona, subject to a medical.On 1 August 2016, Song officially joined the Russian side on a free transfer after his contract with Barcelona had been terminated.
In January 2018, Song trained with his old club Arsenal after being allowed to find a new club by Rubin,but was still registered with Rubin when the Russian Premier League continued on 2 March 2018 after their winter break. He was removed from their league registration list on 13 March 2018. It was reported on 2 April 2018 that Rubin sent a complaint to the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, demanding 40 million euros from Song for breach of contract.
Song signed with Swiss club Sion on a free transfer on 14 August 2018.
Song was first capped by Cameroon in 2005. He was named in the Cameroon squad for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations. He played for Cameroon in their first group match, a 4–2 defeat against holders Egypt; he replaced Stéphane Mbia at half time, joining his uncle Rigoberton the pitch. For the duration of the tournament he was a revelation in defence for Cameroon, earning a Man of the Match award in Cameroon’s semi-final, but then going off injured in the final against Egypt. He was nonetheless named in the Tournament Best XI, alongside compatriot Geremi.
Song was called up for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and was the only Cameroonian named in the Team of the Tournament.
Song was included in the Cameroon squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He did not appear in his side’s opening loss to Japan, but played the full 90 in Cameroon’s disappointing 2–1 loss to Denmark. The result ensured that Les Lions Indomptables were the first country eliminated from the World Cup. He was an unused substitute in Cameroon’s final group stage match against the Netherlands, a 2–1 loss, but his cousin Rigobert made his final national team appearance in the match.
Song participated in his second FIFA World Cup at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. In the team’s second group match, Song was sent off for violent conduct after striking Mario Mandžukić as Cameroon were knocked out, losing 4–0 to Croatia. Song later apologized to Mandžukić, and to the people of Cameroon for being sent off. FIFA punished Song with a three-match ban from competitive internationals, as well as fining him US$22,300. The match is being investigated for possible match-fixing after allegations in a German newspaper. In December 2014, despite being in-form for his club West Ham United, he was omitted by Cameroon coach Volker Finke from the squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
On 6 January 2015, Song announced his international retirement, aged 27 and earning 49 caps, citing his wish to focus on rebuilding his domestic career with West Ham.