Diarra relishing Cottagers chance

29 February 2012 16:17

New signing Mahamadou Diarra is excited by Fulham's ambition and is looking forward to proving his worth in west London.

The 30-year-old former Real Madrid midfielder joined the Cottagers earlier this week, penning a deal until the end of the season with an option of extending it by a further year.

Diarra, who once cost a reported £22million, has been without a club since leaving Monaco last summer and is hoping to resurrect his career in the Barclays Premier League, telling the club's website, fulhamfc.com: "It has been a great pleasure to be here with the team for about a week now."

He added: "I loved my first week of training here. It went really well and everyone was smiling and welcomed me with open arms.

"I really felt welcomed at my new club. There is a feeling that people are happy for me to be here and I am certainly happy to have signed for Fulham.

"Fulham is open to players who like to play football, who give their best and who have a winning mentality.

"The club is ambitious and that was made clear to me by the hierarchy here.

"By speaking to the manager it is also clear that he wants the team to progress and move in the right direction and this made me want to sign straight away.

Source: PA