Soccer:Real Madrid have completed the signing of Portugal centre-back Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea.
The 32-year-old moves to the Bernabeu for a reported fee of €8million and will be re-united with Jose Mourinho, who has managed his compatriot during spells at Chelsea and Porto.
Carvalho flew in to Madrid last night before passing a medical this morning in the Spanish capital.
The Portuguese was then presented to the Spanish media after signing a two-year contract.
He said: “I’ve wanted to come here for a long time. Mourinho is a winning manager and I have come to a winning club.”
Carvalho becomes the fifth summer signing at the Spanish club with Sami Khedira, Pedro Leon, Angel di Maria and Sergio Canales all linking up with Mourinho as he looks to wrestle the Spanish title from bitter rivals Barcelona in his first season in charge.
Carvalho will compete with Pepe, Raul Albiol and Sergio Ramos for a place at the heart of Los Blancos defence.
Carvalho played over 100 times for Chelsea during a six-year spell which saw him win three Premier League winners’ medals.
The former Porto man feels he will have no trouble adapting his game to the Spanish league.
“The speed of the game is different here to England, where the game is quicker,” he said.
“I think it was harder for me to adapt to English football than it will for me to adapt to the Spanish game because it is so similar to the Portuguese league.”
Carvalho knows his experience will prove vital to the Spanish side after the departures of club legends Raul and Guti following the team’s failure to win La Liga under previous manager Manuel Pellegrini.
“I have spoken with Mourinho about my role as a senior player here on the pitch,” said the defender.
“A lot of important players have left this year. I want to help Madrid win as much as I can.”