Chelsea sign playmaker Deco in £8m deal
Monday, 30 Jun 2008 20:49
Deco off to the Bridge
Chelsea have captured Portuguese playmaker from Barcelona in a deal worth around £8 million, the two clubs have confirmed.
With the new manager of the Catalan side Pep Guardiola having recently announced that a number of high-profile stars are free to leave the Nou Camp, the 30-year-old has finally completed his much-anticipated move to Stamford Bridge, where he will play under his former international manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The player said that he was delighted to be joining a side brimming with talent and competition in the midfield of the London club now looks to be fiercer than ever, with Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Jon Mikel Obi and Claude Makelele all likely to be around for the start of the season.
"The Premier League is a great league and it is getting better and you can see that with the Champions League final, where you had two English teams," Deco told Chelsea's official website.
"I am sure I have come at the right time to do great things and be able to help Chelsea go back to the way it was and come back to being the first one, not only in England but also to win the Champions League that has been their dream for so long."
Though Portugal failed to make a big impact at the European Championships, the Brazilian-born midfielder boasts an impressive playing pedigree, having helped Barcelona to two league titles and victory in the Champions League, a competition he also won with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho while at Porto.