Philipp Wollscheid has left Stoke to join Ligue 1 side Metz on a three-year deal, the French club have announced.
The 28-year-old joined Stoke from Mainz in January 2015, initially on loan but doing enough to earn a permanent move to the Potteries that summer.
He made a total of 56 appearances for the club but has fallen down the pecking order, spending part of last season on loan at Wolfsburg.
The Potters' recruitment this summer of Kevin Wimmer, Bruno Martins Indi and Kurt Zouma confirmed his time at Stoke was over.