Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma has expressed his delight at joining Italian champions Inter.
The 25-year-old was one of Inter boss Jose Mourinho’s top transfer targets and the Portuguese winger completed his move just hours before the transfer window closed on Monday.
“Being at Inter is a dream for me because it’s always been my aim to come to a big club and this is a big club with great players, hence I’m very thankful to Porto,” Quaresma told the official Inter website.
Porto had initially hoped for a higher fee than Inter were willing to offer but the deal eventually went through for a sum rising to €24.6 million plus €6-million-rated Portuguese midfielder Vitor Pele.
Mourinho had said that he wanted to add a winger, such as Quaresma, to his squad as his preferred 4-3-3 formation involves a central striker flanker by two wingers.
“Quaresma is an eclectic player who can play in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 formation,” said Mourinho, who complimented the club’s board for the way in which they had gone about their business this summer.
“When I arrived I asked for three players: Quaresma, (Alessandro) Mancini and (Frank) Lampard.
“When Lampard changed his mind I asked the club for (Sulley) Muntari and they have delivered and I thank them.
“Now that I’ve got them, it’s up to me to deliver.”
