The Turkish giants announced yesterday that they had succeeded in luring the Aussie star to Istanbul, and although there was some confusion after his agent quickly stressed that the deal had not yet been completed, it is now confirmed that Kewell will be starring at the Ali Sami Yen stadium next season.

"I'm excited, I'm thrilled to bits. I'm looking forward to the new challenge," he told the club's official website.

"I can't wait to meet up with the team and to get going. It's something different.

"There's a lot of talk about the Turkish league. It's coming up in the world and the national team has done well in the last couple of major tournaments.

"There's a lot of young talent here, and it's different, that's what I'm looking forward to - a new challenge."