Chelsea have completed the £21.1million signing of Pedro from Barcelona on a four-year deal.
The Blues swooped with the Spanish winger on the brink of moving to Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Pedro, 28, expressed his delight upon arriving at Stamford Bridge after a year out of favour with the Catalan giants.
Spain international Pedro has completed his £21.1m move from Barcelona to Premier League outfit Chelsea
Chelsea confirmed the signing of Barcelona winger Pedro on their official Twitter account
Pedro changed his Twitter cover photo to a section of Blues supporters with a banner reading 'Pride of London'
He said: ‘I am very happy to be here. I am very excited to start my adventure at Chelsea and I am here to keep winning titles.
'Thanks to the club and the supporters for giving me the opportunity to put the blue shirt on.’
The
28-year-old was quick to nail his colours to the Chelsea mast by
changing his Twitter cover photo to a section of Blues supporters with a
banner reading 'Pride of London'.
Pedro
becomes Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho's fourth new signing of the summer
after Asmir Begovic, Radamel Falcao and Abdul Baba Rahman.
United
looked to have sealed the deal to take Pedro to Old Trafford, with
executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward travelling to Barcelona to tie up
the deal.
However, Sportsmail understands the World Cup winner was underwhelmed with United's advances, his camp unaware of Woodward's trip.
Mourinho stole a march in the chase by calling up the winger personally to convince him to move to west London.
The
Premier League champions have been sprung into transfer action after
enduring a dreadful start to the season on and off the pitch,
culminating in a 3-0 defeat at Manchester City.
United
boss Louis van Gaal was never sold completely on the idea of signing
Pedro, with the Manchester club revealing they pulled out of any deal on
Tuesday.
They
are now looking at other options, such as Southampton's Sadio Mane, who
his 10 goals in 26 matches in his debut campaign on the south coast.
Barcelona
confirmed they had agreed a fee with Chelsea, stating their thanks for
the 28-year-old's eight years of service at the Nou Camp.
years of service at the Nou Camp.
Manchester United were in pole position to sign Pedro but Chelsea made a late bid for the Barcelona attacker
Pedro has an effort at goal as Athletic Bilbao's Xabier Etxeita attempts to block his shot at the Nou Camp
Jose Mourinho (left) made a personal call to Pedro in order to beat Louis van Gaal (right) to his signature
Here's what Mourinho's new team could look like
Chelsea struck a deal for £21.1m with £19m paid up front, more than United offered.
He
becomes the second recruit for the champions since Sunday's sobering
3-0 defeat at Manchester City, after £22m left back Rahman joined from
Augsburg.
Pedro
has sought a move from Barcelona, where his opportunities have been
limited by the dazzling presence of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis
Suarez.
Mourinho
rejected the chance to sign him in January, when Chelsea preferred to
spend £27m on Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina because he was not cup-tied
in the Champions League. Cuadrado has been a huge disappointment and
will be offered the chance to leave on loan.
The
Portuguese tactician will hope Pedro can inject the required pace,
urgency and goals into a team who have opened the season in sluggish
style, taking one point from two games.
Pedro
was delighted when Chelsea revived their interest. He was said to have
been unconvinced about a move to Old Trafford, perhaps detecting Van
Gaal's doubts about his suitability.
Pedro joins fellow new boys Radamel Falcao (pictured), Asmir Begovic and Abdul Baba Rahman at Chelsea
Rahman and Pedro have both joined Chelsea since their 3-0 defeat by Manchester City on Sunday
United's
take on the matter on Wednesday night was that they withdrew from the
deal on Tuesday when the manager decided he didn't want the Barcelona
player after all.
It seemed a strange explanation, given chief executive Woodward had been in Catalonia as recently as Monday.
United
took their search for pace and creativity towards Mane, the 23-year-old
Senegal striker who scored 10 goals in 26 games for Southampton last
season.
Saints
were quick to issue a firm rebuke. 'Mane is a key part of our team and
our planning for the future,' said a source inside the club. 'He
wouldn't be sold.'
Chelsea
new boy Pedro, on the other hand, is expected to make his Premier
League debut when the Blues face West Brom at The Hawthorns.
Pedro
won 20 major titles and scored 99 goals during his time with Barcelona -
including three Champions League winner's medals and five La Liga
titles.
Manchester United manager Van Gaal has now turned his attention to Southampton forward Sadio Mane
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