"I have only played for two teams and this will be my third, " said Shevchenko. "I hope in my head this is where I end my career. I hope to be happy here and hopefully that will be the last one."

Shevchenko left behind the corruption problems in Italy but he insisted he was as surprised as anyone by the match-fixing allegations. "It is very difficult for me to understand what occurred in Italy. Reflecting back on games I find it very hard to believe that there was something sinister going on. I feel all the players gave their all and myself I know I gave maximum on the field so for me I cannot get my head around how this happened. I cannot really grasp the situation in Italy. From a personal point of view I am happy that the sentence was reduced for AC Milan and they will play in the Champions League."

With Italy now behind him, Shevchenko is relishing a new challenge with the Premiership champions. "It is very difficult in life to reach a certain level but it's even more difficult to stay there at that level.

So this was the motivation I needed. It was just important that I was able to come to a club that had the same type of level I have. Chelsea are already at the highest level and I hope I can help maintain Chelsea's level of excellence."

Shevchenko is also looking forward to going head to head with Thierry Henry but he has dismissed any comparisons. "He is a great player and certainly it is a nice thing to play in the same league but it's not fair to make comparisons because the characteristics of football players are quite different. But as far as playing in the same league as him it will be fine but we are two very different players."