Raul Meireles: 'Fenerbahce is a big club'

Raul Meireles has insisted that he considers Fenerbahce to be as big a club as Chelsea after he left London for Istanbul.

The 29-year-old completed an £8m move to Fenerbahce on Monday, and he has revealed that former Liverpool teammate Dirk Kuyt played a role in encouraging him to move to Turkey.

Meireles told FB TV: "I can't wait to get started - Fenerbahce is as big a club as Chelsea, Liverpool and Porto.

"I had a great season playing at Liverpool with Kuyt. He told me about Fenerbahce and encouraged me to make the move. I have friends playing in Turkey.

"Kuyt has told be on several occasions that Istanbul is a beautiful city, I'm very excited about the prospect of playing here."

Meireles scored six goals in 45 appearances for Chelsea.