Italy midfielder Thiago Motta said his move to Paris Saint-Germain from Inter Milan was a childhood dream as he was officially presented to the media at Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
Motta, who was born in Brazil but represents Italy at international level, joined the Ligue 1 leaders on Tuesday for a fee in the region of 10 million euros ($13.1m) and has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract.
"I'm very motivated by this new experience," said the 29-year-old.
"Since I was young I've dreamed of being here, where great players like Rai, Leonardo and Ronaldinho have played. I have lots of desire and lots of ambition. It's very exciting to be competing in a new championship."
In Paris, Motta will be reunited with Alex, Maxwell and Nene, alongside whom he once competed in a match for Brazil's Under-21 team.
"I'm very happy that at a club like Paris I'm being reunited with players who I played with such a long time ago," he said.
"It's not an accident to have this new opportunity. When there are Brazilians, it makes it easier for others to arrive."
Motta was a first-choice regular under Claudio Ranieri at Inter, who face Marseille in the Champions League later this month, but he explained his reasons for joining a club that are not competing in Europe's top club competition.
"It was a great privilege to play for Inter, at a very big club," he said.
"It's the right time to thank everyone there, and the president (Massimo Moratti). Paris is a real opportunity. There were coaching changes but I had never had a problem with Inter. I always played.
"I felt good at Inter but on a personal and professional level, I felt that, with the confidence of the coach (Carlo Ancelotti) and (sporting director) Leonardo, it was the right moment to join a team with players of a very, very high level."
Motta took part in his first training session with his new team-mates on Tuesday morning.
"It went well, I feel good," he said. "I love change, discovering new places."
Leonardo had declared in Tuesday's edition of L'Equipe that PSG's transfer activity in the January transfer window was over and he claimed that Motta's arrival later that day was unexpected.
"Thiago being here is a surprise, even for us," said the Brazilian.
"He has elegance and huge experience, which will help us a lot in the future. Talking about money is not a taboo for me, and he'll earn less than he did at Inter. That's a strong sign."
PSG missed out on several targets during the transfer window -- notably David Beckham, Alexandre Pato and Carlos Tevez -- but Leonardo said he was satisfied with the club's business.
"We've done almost everything we wanted to do," he said.
"Up to now, we're very happy. Opportunities presented themselves to us. We're always thinking about the future, but ours is here already."
Motta was the club's fourth signing in January, after Alex (Chelsea), Maxwell (Barcelona) and new reserve goalkeeper Roland Le Crom.
"Since June, there have been 13 departures and 13 arrivals," added Leonardo.
"When Qatar bought the club, there were only 13 professional players. We had to 'make' players to have a normal squad of 24-25 players.
"We haven't bought for the sake of it. Sometimes, when you do things quickly, they don't work out."
Leonardo said that PSG's bids for Tevez and Pato had put them in a position to attract players of similar renown in the future, but revealed that they "never made an offer" for Real Madrid playmaker Kaka.
Source: AFP
