Ghana defender, John Mensah has been signed on Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyon from Rennes for €8.4million.

Mensah, 25, signed a five-year contract at Stade Gerland and is looking forward to the challenge of playing for such an illustrious club.

He becomes the third Ghanaian in history to play for the club following in the footsteps of Abedi "Pele" and more recently Michael Essien, now at Chelsea.

"These are major players but I hope to do better than they did," he said.

"It's not going to be easy for me but I'll do my best.

"I'm looking forward to linking up with (manager) Claude Puel, who is one of the best managers in France and has a great future in the game."

The stand-in Black Stars captain says he opted for the French Champions after turning down offers to play in the English Premier League where he was linked to Portsmouth and Wigan.

"I had a few offers, mostly from English clubs but I opted for Lyon on the insistence of my agent," explained Mensah.