Roberto Carlos snubs English clubs for Fenerbahçe
Roberto Carlos today signed for Fenerbahçe and revealed he had
rejected offers from clubs in England and Italy before opting to
join the Turkish champions. The 34-year-old Brazilian announced in
March he would be leaving the Bernabéu at the end of the season,
and has now accepted a new challenge with countryman Zico's
side.
"I will play in Turkey at Fenerbahçe," Roberto Carlos confirmed.
"They are the club who were most interested in signing me and I
have been convinced of the plans which they want to develop. They
have spoken with me a lot and what has been very important for me
to take this decision is that Zico is their coach. I had other
offers from teams in Italy, England and other countries, but
Fenerbahçe want to grow as a club and I want to help them."
Roberto Carlos has spent more than a decade at Real Madrid since
joining them from Italian side Internazionale in 1996. During that
time he has won three league titles and three Champions League
crowns with Madrid, while there could yet be more silverware on the
way with his side on top of La Liga.
"I think that I am in good form and as I already said I want to
leave the way open for Real Madrid so they can begin a new cycle
and let other players come in," he added. "I thank Spain and Real
Madrid. I will return to Spain because I feel connected to this
country. In the future I want to coach and who knows if it will be
at a Spanish team."