Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra joins Anzhi

Real Madrid's French midfielder Lassana Diarra has joined the ranks of other high-profile football stars on Russia's quickly rising Anzhi Makhachkala squad.
The reigning Spanish champions confirmed Saturday the Frenchman would undergo a medical test shortly before signing a deal with Makhachkala. The value of the transfer and the terms of Diarra's contract were not disclosed.
The 27-year-old, whose contract with Real Madrid expires in 2013, was speculated earlier to be weighing a move to a different Russian team, Spartak Moscow. No agreement was reached on that deal.
Diarra switched from Portsmouth to Madrid in 2008, but failed to become a regular starter, playing 117 games and scoring four goals in that time. He earned 28 caps on the national team, but had to sit out Euro 2012 due to an injury.
Makhachkala, which returned to Russia’s football elite just two years ago, qualified for the group stage of the Europa League earlier this week for the first time in the club’s history, without losing a single goal in their qualifying matches. They will play Liverpool, Udinese and Young Boys in the group round of the competition.