11:06am Tuesday 13th May 2008
CHELSEA last night beat Manchester United to the signing of Porto right-back Jose Bosingwa, for a fee of £16.1m.
The Blues confirmed the player has agreed a three-year contract with the Stamford Bridge club and will join after this summer's European Championships.
It represents a welcome success for Chelsea the day after United pipped them to the Barclays Premier League title.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side have long been in the hunt for a rightback and assistant coach Carlos Queiroz confirmed their interest in Bosingwa this season.
United saw him as a successor to Gary Neville but Chelsea have moved swiftly to snap up the attack- minded 25-year-old.
The Portugal international's arrival will place more speculation around the future of Juliano Belletti. He has been sidelined in recent weeks, with Michael Essien playing at right-back.
Chelsea's other right-back, Portugal's Paulo Ferreira, signed a five-year deal earlier this season and is unlikely to move on.
Bosingwa is set to play for his country in the European Championships next month, but was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He moved to Seia in central Portugal when he was young and began his career mainly playing in midfield for Boavista, for whom he made more than 40 appearances.
Bosingwa moved to Porto in 2003, where he played under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Three years ago, Bosingwa was involved in a car accident when his jeep skidded off the motorway and rolled down an embankment before bursting into flames.
He was with four other players at the time, but all escaped alive.
Meanwhile, Mikel John Obi insists the Blues can conjure up another slice of cup glory after failing to pip United for the Premier League title.
Chelsea's eyes are now firmly focused on beating United in the final of the Champions League in Moscow a week on Wednesday.
Mikel said: There is a sense of frustration but determination among everyone. We were saying to each other afterwards that we would put things right in Moscow. We'll make sure we win the Champions League."
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