LONDON - Japan midfielder Hidemasa Morita has signed for Hull City after agreeing a two-year contract with a club option of another year, the newly promoted English Premier League team announced Friday.
The 31-year-old was a free agent this summer after leaving Portuguese powerhouse Sporting CP, with whom he won two Primera Liga titles as well as a Portuguese Cup since joining in the summer of 2022.
"I'm so excited to be here and I can't wait to play in front of you all," Morita, who controversially missed out on Japan's World Cup squad this summer, said on Hull's Instagram account.
The Osaka Prefecture native began his professional career with Kawasaki Frontale in 2018 and moved to Santa Clara in Portugal in January 2021 before arriving at Sporting.
Morita had 11 goals and 16 assists in 166 games at the capital club and helped them reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League last season.
Capped 40 times by Japan with six goals, Morita appeared at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before playing his last game under Hajime Moriyasu in March 2025.
Hull are back in the Premier League for the first time in a decade after finishing sixth in the second-tier Championship last season and winning the promotion playoffs, with Japanese winger Yu Hirakawa, then on loan from Bristol City, setting up the winner in the final.
The Tigers will begin their upcoming campaign at home to Manchester United on Aug. 22.
