Naldo swaps Werder for Wolfsburg

Brazilian defender Naldo has moved from Werder Bremen to Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg for an undisclosed fee. The 29-year-old, who joined Werder in 2005, will leave their training camp on Tuesday evening to link up with his new team-mates on Wednesday. "I am delighted with this transfer," said Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath. "Naldo is just the right player to strengthen our team. He has a lot of experience in Europe to help us reach our goals." The defender scored 22 goals in 173 appearances for Werder, playing in four UEFA Champions League campaigns and also appearing in the final of the UEFA Cup in 2009. Werder coach Thomas Schaaf said: "It is a great loss for us. We cannot be happy about it."The northern Germany club's director of sport, Klaus Allofs, added: "Naldo is a very respected player at Werder. "We have had a fantastic time together and that is also why we had promised him that we would allow him a transfer if the conditions were right for him, but also for Werder Bremen. Of course we would have liked to have extended Naldo's contract, but we could not compete with the offer from Wolfsburg." Naldo was Werder's longest-serving player, together with Aaron Hunt, and he said it was not an easy decision to leave. "It really is hard to leave Bremen," he said. "I had a lot of success with Werder and the club and the fans have a place in my heart, but the offer from Wolfsburg was really very good. I now have the chance to remain in the Bundesliga and that was important to me and my family."