Fluminense have ended the soap opera surrounding the signing of Thiago Neves from Al-Hilal after they officially confirmed the transfer, beating off competition from Flamengo to land the 26-year-old for around €7m.
Thiago Neves had spent last year on loan with Fluminense's cross-city rivals Flamengo, but after talks stalled between Flamengo and Al-Hilal, Fluminense made their move and successfully landed the attacking midfielder after protracted talks.
The Brazilian should wear the number 10 shirt as he returns to Fluminense for a third spell, having spent 2007-2008 with the club before returning briefly on loan from HSV in 2009.
The club will be hoping for him to make an immediate impact in the Copa Libertadores, where they have been drawn with Boca Juniors, Venezuelan outfit Zamora and the winner of the qualifying tie between Arsenal de Sarandí and Sport Huancayo.
"Now it's official. Fluminense Football Club announce the settlement with the player Thiago Neves", a statement from the club read.
"All the financial negotiations were completed successfully, only leaving some bureaucratic details. The player should be presented [to the media] by the end of the week. The recruitment of Thiago Neves is the result of the partnership between Fluminense and Unimed, and represents a great reinforcement for the new season.
"The value of the transfer is around R$16m (around €7m, or £5.8m)".
The transfer hasn't gone down well across Rio de Janeiro, as Flamengo president Patricia Amorim stated moments before Fluminense's announcement that Thiago Neves was not bigger than the club and was welcome to play for Fluminense if he did not want to remain with her club.
"Here at Flamengo, only those who want to play will play. As Thiago Neves has shown no interest in staying with the club, we will do no more to try and keep him.
"At the end of the season, the player said his intention was to stay with Flamengo, but he has not demonstrated this. So we are out. Flamengo is much bigger than he is".
