Chelsea Football Club is delighted to confirm the
signing of Deco from FC Barcelona.
The Portuguese midfielder becomes our first signing under Luiz
Felipe Scolari since the Brazilian's appointment as manager on June
11.
Deco, who won the Champions League
and UEFA Cup with FC Porto, spoke to Chelsea TV after officially
signing and said: 'It is good for me to be here and first of all I
am very happy to be here.'
The former Barcelona player has
further Champions League success as one of his main ambitions with
Chelsea and, after playing in Euro 2008 alongside a strong Chelsea
contingent, now feels the time was right to join his former
national coach in west London.
'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,' said Deco.
'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.
'It is great that we have so many
great players here at Chelsea and it is great that there is the
competition which is healthy for everybody and this just makes the
team better.
'To have great players in any
position of the club just enhances the club.
'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 bit but I am sure I will adapt quite well and quite
fast and do my best for the team.'
Deco's recent stint in Euro 2008,
alongside fellow Blues such as Ricardo Carvalho, helped the World
Cup semi-finalist decide to join Chelsea.
'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.
'But the interest for me came
about before we were in the Euros, I said to them that's great for
you and Chelsea must be a great place to work with and obviously
now I am very happy to be here.'
Winning the Champions League with
FC Porto is one of Deco's greatest achievements, but he feels that
now is the time to gain further victory in Europe's elite
competition with his new club.
'It was a great moment for me to
win the Champions League and it was great for the team to win the
Champions League.
'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,' added Deco.