Mariappa signs with Bristol City

National defender Adrian Mariappa has finally found a new club for the 2020-21 campaign, as he signed with English Championship club Bristol City.

The 34-year-old centre back was without a club since August as he was released by Watford at the end of the last campaign in which they were relegated from the Premier League. The deal was announced on Wednesday and will last until January.

Mariappa originally was supposed to join the senior national squad for the upcoming friendlies against Saudi Arabia but pulled out of the team to finalise the deal.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Ashton said that he expects Mariappa to help continue the club's positive form so far this year. "I am thrilled that the club has been able to secure a player of Adrian Mariappa's quality and experience," Ashton said on the club's website.

Mariappa himself said that fellow national teammate Bobby Decordova-Reid, a former Bristol City academy graduate, was among the many factors that influenced his decision to sign with the team.

"Bobby told me what a great club it was and he had nothing but good things to say - and I know he wouldn't lie to me!" Mariappa said on the club's website. "It's evident from the outside what a good club it is, how well run it is, and in the games that I have watched you can see the togetherness of the players, and those are very attractive things for a player."

Bristol City are currently fifth in the championship with 20 points but are two points from first-place Reading, another former club of his. Mariappa could make his club debut after the international break when they host Derby County on November 21.