Chelsea flop striker Alexandre Pato has decided to sign with La Liga outfit Villarreal on Tuesday after a forgettable half-season stint with the Stamford Bridge giants last term.
The 26-year-old Brazil international was sent on loan by his mother club Corinthians Paulista to the Blues in January to provide reinforcement to then interim manager Guus Hiddink's attack line during the second half of the 2015-2016 Premier League season.
However, Pato ended up playing only two games, scoring one goal, during his disappointing stay in London. He made the first team after three months, debuting as a substitute in an April 2nd match with lowly team Aston Villa where he scored a goal.
Chelsea sent him back to Corinthians at the end of the season despite the forward's remarks that he enjoys life in London and he wants to stay there.
The Brazilian Serie A club and his agent then made him available for a transfer this summer, finally reaching an agreement with the Yellow Submarine for the 5-foot-11 Pato Branco, Brazil native, which cost a fee of €3 million that includes 60 percent of the Brazilian's federative rights, SkySports reported.
Pato's "lacked fitness" and recurring injuries with Chelsea is said to be the reason why Hiddink was not able to maximize his stay at the Bridge last season. Also, he had to "compete with Diego Costa, Loic Remy, Radamel Falcao and Bertrand Traore for a starting berth", but he was not impressing Hiddink enough even during training sessions which led to him not getting any playing time whenever he is healthy, according to 90min.
Villarreal is financially secure at the moment after selling young defender Eric Bailly to Manchester United early in the summer for £30 million as the club is said to be planning to use the funds to prepare themselves for Champions League competitions next term.
It is also speculated that Pato's desire to play Champions League ball is what made him accept Villarreal's offer, although it is not certain whether he will be head coach Marcelino's first-choice striker or not since strikers Roberto Soldado and Cédric Bakambu are available in his roster.
Aside from Pato, coach Marcelino had also snagged Denis Cheryshev from Real Madrid after the Russian midfielder failed to have consistent first team time under manager Zinedine Zidane, who currently has a loaded midfield composed of Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Isco, Mateo Kovacic, and Lucas Vazquez.