When I was talking with Shanghai, I was talking to big clubs from Europe, as well. There was Atletico Madrid, who I almost joined. I liked them very much and what they were offering me at the time. There was also Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan. I had some options.

I have always worn the No.10 shirt when I played at lower levels and, obviously, my reference point was always Pele and then Ronaldinho.

It was just great to wear the Brazil shirt in the senior team for the first time. I'd already worn it before playing for various age groups in the youth teams but it's very different playing for the Brazilian first team.

Playing for Chelsea doesn't compare to the pressure of playing for Brazil because we've won the World Cup five times. It's not only a massive country but football is part of the culture. They always want you to win, so you can never have an off-day.

In the Premier League, they don't give a foul even when it is a foul. We can't dive or pretend things.

I chose Chelsea because I always wanted to play in Europe for one of the biggest clubs. And I'm glad I did.

The best players in the world play in Europe so that's where you want to go when you play in Brazil.

When my agent told me that Chelsea were interested it was not something I even needed to think about.

I played in a city in Brazil where there are only two big clubs and Internacional versus Gremio was unbelievable - the pressure, the team atmosphere and everybody flying on the adrenalin.