Real Madrid set to sign Ricardo Carvalho
Real Madrid have completed the signing of central defender Ricardo Alberto Silveira Carvalho from English Premier League champions Chelsea, subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms. The La Liga club have agreed a reported fee of £6.6m for the Portugal international.
A statement on Chelsea’s official website said that: “Chelsea Football Club can confirm it has agreed terms with Real Madrid for the transfer of Ricardo Carvalho. The transfer is subject to a medical and the player agreeing personal terms. Chelsea would like to thank Riccy for his six years of service, and we wish him well in his future career.”
At Madrid, Carvalho will play under Jose Mourinho for the third time after they teamed up to deliver a Portuguese league and UEFA Champions League title for Porto and two EPL title wins for Chelsea. With a stellar array of players to pick from in attack, Mourinho has been keen to bolster his defensive options. Last month, he described Carvalho as “one of the best central defenders in the world”.
Carvalho spent most of last season in and out of the first team at Chelsea due to injuries and the good form of Brazilian centre-back Alex as Carlo Ancelotti led the club to a league and FA Cup double. The defender has become Mourinho’s fifth signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Angel di Maria, Pedro Leon, Sergio Canales and Germany’s 2010 FIFA World Cup star Sami Khedira at the Bernebau.
The player revealed his wish to join up once again with Mourinho last month, when he told a Spanish newspaper that: "It would be a dream to be able to play for Madrid, which I consider to be the best club in the world, and follow the orders of the best coach in the history of football. With Mourinho I experienced two marvellous stages at Porto and Chelsea. To have the opportunity to win another Champions League with him at Real Madrid would be tremendous.”
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