OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Sami Khedira leaves Juventus, signs with Hertha Berlin

It’s been over 14 months since Sami Khedira last appeared in a game for Juventus. It’s been even longer since Khedira, once considered a key cog in Juve’s starting lineup that advanced to the second of two Champions League finals in the span of three years, was the player that first showed up in Turin. So, by that line of logic, this was always a day that was bound to happen.

That just happens when you hit the midway point of the season and you’ve played exactly zero minutes of actual game time.

But one of the longest waiting games in recent Juventus transfer history is now a thing of the past. Khedira, now just a few months shy of his 34th birthday, has officially moved on from the club that brought him to Italy 5 ¹⁄₂ years ago. Juve announced on Monday that Khedira has terminated his contract — one that was set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season — by mutual consent so he can join Hertha Berlin on a free transfer after taking a medical with the club over the weekend.

According to Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio and German outlet Kicker, Khedira has agreed to a contract with Hertha until 2023.

Khedira joined Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2015 after five seasons in Spain with Real Madrid. It was the latest in a string of Bosman deals that then-Juventus transfer maestro Beppe Marotta orchestrated during his time in Turin. Even with Khedira’s history of injury issues, he was coming to a club with plenty of impressive qualities as well as the fact that he was still in the prime of his career.

Khedira ended up winning five Scudetti during his time with Juventus. And while the most recent memories of Khedira have to do with his potential contract termination dispute this past summer or how he struggled with form and injuries over the last couple of years, lest we forget about the good times with him during his first couple of seasons with Juventus. Those were good times — both for Khedira personally and Juventus as a club that did a whole lot of winning.

Khedira will be playing in the Bundesliga for the first time in 11 years when he takes the field for Hertha Berlin. Who knows when that will be based on the fact he hasn’t played in an actual match for such a long period of time, but it will be a good thing for a good guy.

Sami may not be in Mallorca just yet, but now he’s back home in Germany.