By DPA,
London : Chelsea late Monday announced the signing of Portugal midfielder Deco from Barcelona, the first arrival at the London club since Luis Felipe Scolari was confirmed as manager last month.
Chelsea will pay Barcelona around 10 million euros ($15.8 million) for the 30-year-old, who won the Champions League with both FC Porto and Barcelona.
“It is good for me to be here, and first of all I am very happy to be here,” Deco told Chelsea TV Monday.
“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, not only in England but also to win the Champions League, (something) that has been their dream for so long.”
His arrival is sure to fuel rumours surrounding the future of Chelsea’s England midfielder Frank Lampard, who has been linked with Inter Milan, where he would be teamed up with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
Deco, meanwhile, will be reunited at Chelsea with his former Porto manager Scolari, who also led Portugal at the last World Cup and at Euro 2008.
“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 said.
“I know it is a new challenge, but I am looking forward to it. 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.”