Micah Richards moved to Fiorentina on deadline day and was unveiled by the Italian club on Thursday.
The 26-year-old defender was determined to play first-team football, he even turned down a pay rise from Manchester City in favour of a move to Fiorentina.
After only making nine league starts in the last two years for Manchester City, Richards is keen on reviving his career at Fiorentina and has praised their ''very impressive'' project. He rejected offers from other clubs as well in order to join Fiorentina.
“I had other offers, but the project at Fiorentina was very impressive. I believe that I can help us to achieve our goals, together with my team-mates.'' Richards told reporters.
Micah Richards also spoke to Stefan Savic, Stefan Jovetic and Matija Nastasic prior to his move to Florence. The trio only had good things to say about Fiorentina.
“I spoke with JoJo(Jovetic), Savic and Nastasic and they told me wonderful things about Fiorentina and Florence,” Richards continued.
“As soon as I arrived I realised that they were right, the atmosphere is perfect to do well. I spoke with the staff at Fiorentina and they have told me that they want to invest in new talent. The club is going in the right direction.
“I have not spoken of clear objectives, we want to do well, perhaps in being able to qualify for the Champions League.
“I have always watched Serie A from the outside. The pace is less, but there is more on tactics and technique. On these things I hope to improve, making use of the work done with Roberto Mancini.”