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Deco follows Scolari to Chelsea

Midfielder targets Champions League glory with Londoners

Portuguese international Deco has completed his long anticipated move to English Premier League side Chelsea, where he will once again work under Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The Blues confirmed the deal on Monday evening, with Deco telling the club’s official website: “It’s good for me to be here and I am very happy to be here. I am sure I have come at the right time to help Chelsea go 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.”

“I always speak with my team-mates when we are together with the national team and they have always told me how great Chelsea is and how great it is to play for this team.”

Having been made available for transfer by Barcelona, Deco was always certain to make a high profile switch this summer, with Italian champions Inter also holding a strong interest in the former Porto playmaker.

Indeed, there was much speculation during the second half of the season that the 31-year-old was headed to the San Siro, while Jose Mourinho’s appointment as NerazurrI manager appeared to strengthen the possibility of Deco making his way to Milan.

However, Chelsea became favourites for the Brazilian-born Portuguese international when they hired former Portugal manager Scolari last month, and reports were rife around the national team’s training camp during the recent European Championships that Deco had agreed to follow the Brazilian boss to Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho thwarted

Despite an open show of interest from Mourinho as a last-gasp attempt to change the player’s mind, Deco has signed a two-year deal with last season’s Champions League finalists, and is believed to have cost Chelsea over 10m euros.

The switch marks the end of Deco’s four-year spell in Spanish football, but the midfielder is keen to sample English football, while the club’s well documented European ambition will be an inspiration for the man who has already lifted the Champions League with Porto and Barcelona.

“I know it is very important to Chelsea and I am sure it is going to be great for me to win the Champions League again with Chelsea,” he said.

“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. I know I need a little bit of time to adapt but I am sure I will adapt quite well and quite fast and do my best for the team.”

Deco joins international team-mates Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Jose Bosingwa at Stamford Bridge, as well as Portuguese back-up goalkeeper Hilario.


Related: Deco PortuGOAL profile



Was the midfield maestro right to choose Chelsea over Inter; Scolari over Mourinho? Will he collect more silverware for the Blues? Send us your opinion using the form at the bottom of this page.