Shakhtar Donetsk have completed the transfer of highly-rated Brazilian youngster Douglas Costa from Gremio for a reported fee of €12 million.

Costa has been linked with a move to Europe for some time, with Manchester United and Milan showing an interest in the 19-year-old.

"This transfer was in everybody's interest. Douglas asked us to sell him and we needed the money to satisfy our creditors," said Gremio president Duda Kroeff during a press conference.

''I was not expecting it,'' Costa said. ''I only thought of Gremio. Today I think about Donetsk and I'm extremely happy.

''That's two times they tried to sign me. I do not know if this is the right time to leave but I mostly thought about my family.''

Shakhtar have reportedly acquired 80% of the player's transfer rights and Gremio will receive 15% of the transfer fee in the event of his transfer from Shakhtar in the future.

The Ukraine side have also secured the services of Alex Teixeira from Vasco da Gama during this month, having won the final UEFA Cup last summer.