Blackburn Rovers have signed South Africa striker Benni McCarthy from Porto, the Premier League club said on Friday.
McCarthy, who joins for an undisclosed fee, has signed a four-year contract.
”We tried to sign Benni 12 months ago and have been tracking the situation since then,” Blackburn chairperson John Williams told the club’s website.
”We are delighted that we have managed to bring him to Rovers.”
McCarthy (28) helped Porto to their Champions League title in 2004 but has been trying to engineer a move to England since manager Jose Mourinho left to take over at Chelsea.
Although he has been one of South Africa’s leading players for almost 10 years, he has enjoyed a rocky relationship with his federation, partly due to problems over release for matches from his various European clubs.
He retired from international football after the 2002 World Cup but returned to the following year and has scored 26 goals in 60 appearances. — Reuters