LEVERKUSEN, Germany — Aleix García is leaving one of European soccer's surprise successes for another.

German champion Bayer Leverkusen said Thursday it had signed the Spanish midfielder from Girona, where he was key to its run to third in the Spanish league.

The 26-year-old García has signed a five-year contract with Leverkusen, where he joins up with Spanish coach Xabi Alonso.

“Aleix García is a player with outstanding strategic ability, his passing is extremely accurate and he plays with great vision from holding midfield,” Leverkusen sporting managing director Simon Rolfes said.

“Aleix has leadership quality that will be very valuable to us in the coming years. We are happy we’ve been able to sign him and he will be an important factor in meeting our ambitious targets.”

García was critical to Girona’s historically good season in the Spanish league thanks to his passing, vision and hustle in the midfield.

He scored three goals, provided six assists, and was the league’s second-leading passer overall. That helped Girona qualify for European competition for the first time with a Champions League berth.

García recently earned his first call-up for Spain, but he was dropped from the preliminary squad just before the European Championship.

He is the second signing of the off-season for Leverkusen, which is bidding to retain the Bundesliga title it won in April, ending Bayern Munich's 11-year reign. Leverkusen signed French defender Jeanuël Belocian from Rennes last week.

García's signing continued a day of changes at German soccer's biggest clubs after Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic resigned and Bayern signed defender Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart.

Bayer Leverkusen signs Girona midfielder Aleix Garcia

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