Deco looks set to leave Chelsea to return home to Brazil after agreeing terms with Fluminense.
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Deco: Brazil-born Portugal international
Deco, who started only 14 Premier League games for champions Chelsea last season, still has another year to run on his contract at Stamford Bridge but it is thought he will be allowed to move on.
"As Deco himself said, the deal is well under way,'' said Celso Barros, the president of the group which owns Fluminense. "It depends only on him being released by Chelsea and passing the medical tests, because the salary and length of contract have already been agreed.
"We will not talk this Wednesday, but in principle Deco will go to London to try to expedite his release with Chelsea. That done, he has asked Fluminense for at least a week to be with his children in Brazil and then he will report for medical tests and to start training.''
Deco developed his career in Europe after struggling to make the grade as a teenager in Brazil, and starred for both Porto and Barcelona before moving to Chelsea. He represented Portugal after moving to the country and gaining citizenship and retired from international football after the World Cup, where he played in only the opening match against Ivory Coast.