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Jo moves on

Per the official site:

Jo has left Manchester City for Brazilian club Internacional.

The forward was Mark Hughes' first signing for Manchester City, joining from CSKA Moscow in July 2008.

The 24-year-old made a total of 41 appearances, scoring six goals but at times he struggled for form and was loaned out to Everton midway through the 2008-09 season. He then returned to Goodison Park for part of the following season, which also included a loan spell at Turkish giants Galatasaray.

In his final season for the club, he spent a large amount of time on the bench, playing the occasional game under Roberto Mancini and scoring three goals in the Carling Cup and Europa League.

The next twelve months will begin to see the departure of a number of players that will serve to highlight the profligate nature of the club the summers of 2008 and 2009 and illustrate just how little the club received in return for such an outlay after the ADUG money first arrived.

Perhaps most indicative of this period was the City career of Jo: three seasons in length, not even fifty appearances and less than ten goals during a time punctuated by three loan spells away from the club.

Jo arrived at the club a short time after the appointment of Mark Hughes, the suggestion being that it was a Sven/Thaksin signing that had been agreed prior to him taking the job. Even if Hughes was not sold on him (although these comments suggest he felt he could play a part at the club at a time where striking options were far from competitive).

However, Jo did not enamour himself to Hughes with reports of a less than impressive attitude at a time where Hughes was looking to overhaul what he saw as a far from professional atmosphere following the Sven-era). Whilst he never got a run in the side, his play never warranted the opportunity and even during a season where the front line saw Felipe Caicedo, Ched Evans and Daniel Sturridge all feature, still Jo was on the outside, his appearances veering between the maddening and the frustrating.

The summer of 2009 saw the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez, effectively signalling the end of Jo's City career and the player only stuck with the squad during 2010/11 due to a lack of suitors and thus, it is no surprise that what will rank as one of the most underwhelming City careers draws to an end.