Owen Hargreaves has revealed his relief at finally being able to call himself a Manchester United player.
The 26-year-old England midfielder has now completed the formalities of his
move to Old Trafford from Bayern Munich.
The deal was agreed in principle back in May, but a four-year contract with
the Premier League was not ratified until yesterday.
'It's been a long time coming,' Hargreaves told his new club's website.
'It was probably the worst-kept secret in football, but it's great to be
here.
'I think it's great to finally reach a positive conclusion - especially after
all the time and energy that's been put in from everyone involved!'
Canada-born Hargreaves' transfer fee is believed to be in the region of
£17million.
He joined Bayern from the Calgary Foothills in 1997 and won four Bundesliga
titles with Bayern as well as the 2001 Champions League and Intercontinental Cup
(World Club Championship).
Hargreaves was a surprise star of England's largely disappointing 2006 World
Cup campaign and United tracked his progress closely from that point.
His versatility and willingness to fill in where needed for former England
boss Sven-Goran Eriksson meant he rarely got a chance in his preferred midfield
anchor role, and he became a target of the boo boys before a stirring display
against Portugal in the World Cup quarter-finals revived his reputation.
A broken leg suffered in Bundesliga action back in September meant an extended
lay-off and forced him to miss England's first competitive games under new coach
Steve McClaren.
However, Bayern had insisted the player was not for sale, before finally
giving way and allowing the deal to go ahead.
That all changed on May 20 when club president Franz Beckenbauer confirmed the
player was leaving.
'Owen Hargreaves will go,' Beckenbauer told the DFB-Doppelpass programme on
German TV.
'It's also the wish of the player.
'Everything is right and it is also financially right.'
Asked if reports about the £17million fee were true, he said: 'It will be
around that size.'
Hargreaves had been contracted to Bayern until 2010.
