The Blues confirmed the player has agreed a three-year contract with the Stamford Bridge club and will join after this summer's European Championships.

It represents a welcome success for Chelsea the day after United pipped them to the Premier League title.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side have long been in the hunt for a right-back and assistant coach Carlos Queiroz confirmed their interest in Bosingwa earlier in the season.

United saw him as a successor to Gary Neville but Chelsea have moved swiftly to snap up the attack-minded 25-year-old.

The Portugal international's arrival will place more speculation around the future of Juliano Belletti. The Brazilian has been sidelined in recent weeks, with Michael Essien playing at right-back.

Chelsea's other right-back, Portugal's Paulo Ferreira, signed a five-year deal earlier this season and is unlikely to move on.

Bosingwa is set to play for his country in the European Championships next month, but was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He moved to Seia in central Portugal when he was young and began his career mainly playing in midfield for Boavista, for whom he made more than 40 appearances.

Bosingwa moved to Porto in 2003, where he played under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and has been their first-choice right-back for the last three seasons.

Three years ago, Bosingwa was involved in a serious car accident when his jeep skidded off the motorway and rolled down an embankment before bursting into flames.

He was with four other players at the time, but all escaped alive.

However, Sandro Luis had to have his left foot amputated as a result of the accident.