Bresciano joining City

Socceroos midfielder Mark Bresciano has revealed the reason he quit Italy for the money-soaked English Premiership – and it wasn’t for the cash.

Speaking from Manchester, where he confirmed he has inked a four-year contract worth an estimated $70,000 a week, the former Palermo playmaker said it was more about regaining his flagging enthusiasm.

“If I’m honest I’d lost a bit of my excitement for Serie A and I needed to get that back,’ said the 27-year-old after completing his medical at Eastlands.

“I want this move to freshen me up a bit - I need a new challenge. I was beginning to lose a little bit of my edge in Italy. It was time for a change.”

"City are ambitious - they have spent big and they are going places. I'm genuinely excited to be a part of it all.''

Bresciano’s $8.5 million arrival takes new coach Sven Goran Eriksson’s spending spree past the $100 million mark, making City the biggest splurgers yet in a pre-season orgy made possible by a new $4 billion TV rights deal between Rupert Murdoch’s Sky TV and the Premiership.

Eriksson, who first noticed the thrusting talents of the bald-pated powerhouse when he was at the helm of Lazio, made his initial approach for Bresciano during Australia’s ill-fated Asian Cup campaign.

“He made it clear he wanted me and when somebody like him does that you have to take notice,” added Bresciano, who has scored nine times in 37 appearances for his country.

“I’ve had eight years in Italy (at Empoli, Parma and Palermo) and I’m hoping I can quickly adapt to the different demands of the Premiership. I’ve always wanted to play here.”

“It can sometimes be hard to change leagues because of the different styles. And there are also a lot of new players at the club, so it’s going to be interesting.”

Bresciano trained for the first time with his new team-mates Monday – one of whom is former Parma colleague Bernardo Corradi - and he is expected to make his debut on Saturday night against West Ham, where he will be up against Socceroos teammate and Hammers skipper Lucas Neill.

He insists joining City will not force him to dilute his steadfast commitment to the national team as they prepare to embark early next year on their marathon journey towards qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

"It will be a busy time ahead for club and country," he added. "It will be a hectic schedule but you just have to keep doing it.”

"We found the Asian Cup a big learning experience. We'll be better prepared the next time we face Asian opposition.

“We came in blind and that’s always very hard to do. I liken it to the first time we went to Uruguay in 2001 when we found life very difficult (crashing out of the World Cup 3-1 on aggregate after winning the first leg in Melbourne 1-0).”

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