He would not be drawn into the debate on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future, but another of Portugal’s playmakers was forthright on his own transfer decision: to join Chelsea rather than the host of other European clubs chasing his signature.

“I’ve come to win the Champions League with Chelsea, that’s what I’m here for,” Deco said today. It is a competition the midfield player knows more about than most players, since he has won it twice, with FC Porto under Jose Mourinho and with Barcelona, the club who sold him to Stamford Bridge this month.

The Catalan club’s president, Joan Laporta, said he was only too happy to let the 31-year-old go on the basis that his form had slumped in the past two seasons. Not surprisingly, Deco disagrees with the notion that he is in decline. At his unveiling today at Chelsea’s training ground in Cobham, he said he, like his stellar team-mates, had been scapegoated for the club’s wider failings.

“Big clubs like Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, when they don’t win a competition it’s a disaster for them and the players come out looking bad. I’m not worried, I believe in myself,” he said.

Born in Brazil but a naturalised Portuguese, he cut a relaxed figure this afternoon, talkative, via a translator, though careful to resist the temptation to say anything too dramatic on his maiden encounter with the English media.

Shirt in hand, he posed for photographs with another Portuguese arrival, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Deco’s coach at Euro 2008 last month. “I would have come here even if he wasn’t here,” Deco said.

There is heavy competition for places in Chelsea’s midfield, but Deco said he hopes Frank Lampard will remain at the club despite Inter Milan’s interest. “Of course. He’s an absolute delight to watch, I’d like him to stay. I’m not sure if he will but I hope he does. I’m used to playing alongside great players, it’s good we have so much competition.”