'I accepted a two-year contract with Dinamo Bucharest,' the 35-year-old, who has won 108 caps for his country, told Reuters.

Popescu said the decision to join the Romanian champions came after clubs from Germany and Italy offered him less attractive terms.

'Dinamo made me the best offer,' he said.

He declined to elaborate but sources close to Dinamo said he would pocket a 200,000 euros signing-on fee and would be paid a 300,000 euros in salary over the two years.

Popescu was not called up for Romania's friendly against Greece on August 21, but he said he would return for the opening match of the 2004 European qualifying campaign against Bosnia in September.

'The national team is very important to me. I want to help it to qualify for the Euro 2004 finals,' he said.

Popescu became a free agent in June after his contract with Italian side Lecce, who were relegated from Serie A last season, expired.

Popescu has scored 16 goals in his 16 years of international activity, which has included appearances at three World Cups and two European championships.

His club career has taken him to PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspurs, Barcelona - who he helped to their 1997 Cup Winners' Cup triumph - and Galatasaray, with whom he won the UEFA Cup in 2000.

There were also changes behind the scenes at Dinamo on Wednesday with former Romania international Ionut Lupescu being appointed their new general manager, replacing former executive director Cristian Borcea.

The move followed Dinamo's exit from the Champions League in the preliminary round last week after a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Club Bruges.

Lupescu, who played 74 times for his country, retired as a player in 2001 and has acted as honorary president of the Romanian soccer players' trade union for the last year.