“It feels unbelievable to finally be back here” – Ramsey rejoins Cardiff City

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has said it’s the “perfect time” to rejoin his boyhood club Cardiff City.

The Caerphilly born midfielder, 32, completed his sensational return to City on Saturday – 15 years after he first left the club to join Arsenal as a 17-year-old.

“It feels unbelievable to finally be back here. I always thought one day I’d come back, and now it’s the perfect time to do that,” Ramsey told the club’s official website.

“To be back with my family and around familiar faces is just brilliant, so I’m delighted to be back here now. I’ve missed that a lot in the last year or so, so it was important for me to be back around them.

Ramsey has returned to south Wales having spent last season in France’s Ligue 1 with OGC Nice.

Upon his Cardiff return, he said one of his targets was to help his new teammates get back to the Premier League.

“I’ve said it many times in the past – I owe so much to Cardiff, to the fans, to everybody who has been at the club when I was here as a young boy coming through,” Ramsey said.

“For me now to come full circle, to be part of this team now, and hopefully achieve the goals we want, there’s no better feeling than that.”

Since leaving Cardiff in 2008, Ramsey has enjoyed an illustrious career that has seen him win trophies with Arsenal and Juventus – and help take Welsh football to heights fans wouldn’t have dared to dream of.

As well as OGC Nice, Ramsey’s career also saw him play for Scottish side Rangers and represent Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. He also had a loan spell at Cardiff during the 2010/11 season.

The former Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni pupil was appointed Wales captain by the late Gary Speed in 2011, aged just 20.

He was later replaced by Ashley Williams as Wales captain in 2012, by Speed’s successor Chris Coleman – under whom Wales qualified for their first major tournament since 1958.

And what a tournament it was, with Ramsey playing a starring role as Wales reached the EURO 2016 semi-finals in France.

It was followed by a second consecutive European Championships, where Wales advanced past the group stages – before going on to reach the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Ramsey was reappointed Wales captain earlier this year following Gareth Bale’s retirement.