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Shevchenko transfer completed
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Shevchenko transfer completed
Chelsea Football Club can confirm that Andriy Shevchenko has signed from AC Milan for a club record fee.
Shevchenko completed a medical and agreed personal terms at Stamford Bridge today (Wednesday). He has signed a four year contract.
The former European Footballer of the Year said: “I am here for the challenge and the excitement of playing in the Premier League. I am going from one big club to another and joining a team of champions.
“There is a right moment to join a football club and I think I have arrived here at the perfect time. The Champions League has to be a realistic target for next season but it is not just about the Champions League. Chelsea is going for their third Premiership as well and I like the club's mentality of wanting to win every game they play.
“I have followed Mr. Mourinho's career carefully for the last few years and have been hugely impressed with the way he manages. He puts team ethic before individual expression which is the way I believe great teams are created. Had money been my motivation for coming, I would probably have stayed in Milan.
“I am pleased that Chelsea managed to conclude everything before the World Cup - I can go to Germany with a clear mind and proud to be a Chelsea player.”
Chelsea manager and first team coach, José Mourinho, said: “Today is a day when the dream became reality. Andriy has always been my first choice for Chelsea since I arrived. Before it was not possible, now it is for real. He has great qualities, ambition, discipline, tactical awareness and of course he is a great goalscorer.
“I did not need to meet with him to convince him about Chelsea, in the same way we did not need to talk a lot about why I wanted him. Everybody knows him as a player, tactically he can play in the Chelsea system no doubt.
“Milan is a big club, a great club, but for him to leave Milan for Chelsea is a big statement about where Chelsea is. He is a champion and he is joining a team of champions. I have already spoken to some of our players and they are looking forward to playing with him. Great players want to play with other great players.”
Chief Executive Peter Kenyon added: “This is another proud day for Chelsea. The signing of Andriy, following on from Michael Ballack and Solomon Kalou shows the ambition of Chelsea. The deal is a new club transfer record and is a straight cash deal. We are delighted to have signed one of Europe's greatest goalscorers.
“Andriy has an unparalleled record in the Champions League, international matches and Serie A.”
Chelsea will formally present Shevchenko at a media conference after the World Cup. Shevchenko is due to meet up with the Ukrainian World Cup squad tomorrow (Thursday).
Shevchenko began his professional career at Dynamo Kiev in his Ukraine homeland, winning five league titles and two national cups in five seasons between 1994 and 1999.
He came to prominence across Europe when scoring a first-half hat-trick in a Champions League win against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the 1997-98 season. The season after, he spearheaded Kiev into the semi-finals of the competition. The giants of AC Milan came calling, paying a transfer fee of $26 million.
Shevchenko's debut Serie A season ended with the player topscorer, having found the net 24 times in 32 appearances. He was the first non-Italian to achieve such a feat in his first Serie A season. His Champions League debut for Milan came at Stamford Bridge in a 0-0 draw.
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