Dutch winger Arjen Robben said he felt honored to be one of the most expensive players to join Real Madrid after completing a 36 million euro ($48.80 million) move from Chelsea to the Spanish champions.
 New Real Madrid football player Arjen Robben of the Netherlands poses with his jersey during his presentation at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. The Dutch winger's move to the Spanish champions, for a fee of more than 20 million pounds (29.5 million euros), was agreed to the day before. [AP] |
Arjen Robben displays his new Real Madrid shirt after becoming the fourth biggest signing in the club's history.
"Firstly, I know it is a lot of money they have paid, but it shows the interest they had in getting me here," Robben told a news conference on Thursday after signing a five-year contract.
"They showed they were ready to do everything to get me here."
Robben, the fourth most expensive signing in the club's history behind "Galacticos" Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo, was welcomed by some 3,000 fans at the Bernabeu.
Still beaming from the reception he was given, the 23-year-old said he was delighted that one of the close season's longest transfer sagas had come to an end.
"For me it was a big relief when the final word came yesterday," he said. "It was a difficult time because I was waiting for it since the first day I was back training with Chelsea."
Asked about why he decided to leave the London club, the Dutch international said that his injury problems and the club's loss of confidence in him were the reasons.
"I had three very nice years at Chelsea, it was a great experience for me," he said. "I won every prize I could win in England, but I had too many injuries there so didn't make the impact I wanted to. I see this as a new start and a new chance and I hope I can stay out of that terrible (treatment) room."
"After a while I felt I wasn't getting the confidence I needed and I started changing my mind (about staying) and when a massive big club like Real Madrid comes for you it gives you a lot of confidence."
The pacy winger said that he was determined to prove he was not injury prone after suffering a series of problems at Stamford Bridge over the past two seasons.
"I will prove that I'm not like that," he said. "For a player the most frustrating thing is to be injured, but I know I'm strong and I'm full of confidence I can do it here."
Meanwhile, Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze said he did not believe Real Madrid would be his final destination after trying to force his way out of Manchester United to join rivals Liverpool.
"I never thought this would be where I would end up, but I'm very happy," the 29-year-old Argentine told a news conference after completing his 12-million euro move to the Spanish champions.
Heinze, who made 83 appearances for United, had made it clear he wanted to leave Old Trafford at the end of last season but his attempt to force a move to Liverpool failed when a Premier League arbitration panel refused his request.
Both Lyon and Real expressed an interest in signing the defender, but he said he had opted to sign a four-year deal with the Spanish side because of their name.
"I have great respect for Lyon, but I decided on Real because every player wants to come to this team and I think I made the right choice," he said.
