Nemanja Matic moves to Chelsea
The Serbia player was initially with the Blues from 2009 to 2011, before he was transferred as part of the deal to bring David Luiz to Stamford Bridge.
“It was my last game [for Benfica],” he said of Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Porto. “I want to thank everyone at the club and all the supporters. Benfica will be forever in my heart. I played here for two-and-a-half years — I gave my all in every training session, in every match, and now is the right time to leave.
“I want to improve and to play in a better league, and I want to go to Chelsea, a club I also love. I also want to thank the Benfica president [Luis Felipe Vieira], who did everything he could to keep me here but, ultimately, I wanted to leave and insisted on leaving. I respect the effort made to keep me here — he and everyone at Benfica were very good to me and made me happy — but, to repeat, I insisted on going as I felt the time was right.”