AC Milan: Kevin-Prince Boateng out... Alessandro Matri in!

Schalke has signed Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng from AC Milan.

The Italian side confirmed the deal on its website Friday, when Schalke presented the player at a news conference.

"I am very happy to be home in Germany, in the best league in the world," Boateng said.

Schalke general manager Horst Heldt said the club had signed the 26-year-old Boateng to a four-year deal.

"He is a player of extraordinary quality and a leading personality," Heldt said.

Heldt said it was easy to convince Boateng to switch to the Gelsenkirchen-based club - the difficulty was in convincing Milan to sell him.

Boateng scored twice as Milan qualified for the Champions League with a 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday. Under UEFA rules, he remains eligible to play for Schalke in the competition proper.

While he was a key player in Milan's midfield, Boateng had a rocky time in Italy.

In January, he was subjected to racist chants during a friendly with lower-division club Pro Patria, and he responded by walking off the field followed by the rest of his teammates.

Boateng scored 10 goals in 74 league games for Milan since joining in 2010.

He previously played for English clubs Tottenham and Portsmouth, as well as Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin.

He represented Germany at youth level but opted to play for the country of father ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

But this is not the only change that happened to AC Milan... Alessandro Matri joined the club.

The 29 years old scored eight Serie A goals for Juve in the 2012-13 season and a total of 29 in all competitions since moving to Turin in 2011, but the arrival of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente left him surplus to requirements with the reigning champion.

The Milan academy product, who made his Rossoneri debut against Piacenza aged 18 in May 2003 before joining Cagliari in 2007, arrived in the Lombardian capital on Thursday night before undergoing a medical and signing his contract at the club's Via Turati office.

A statement published on acmilan.com read: "AC Milan announce the permanent acquisition of the playing rights of Alessandro Matri from Juventus."

Matri is also a full Italy international having earned five caps since first being called up in February 2011.

Vice-president Adriano Galliani told his club's website: "Matri returns after 10 years and will wear the number nine shirt. His arrival reminds me of when Pippo Inzaghi came here 12 years ago, he was about the same age as Alessandro is now."

Matri's arrival at San Siro coincides with the sale of midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng to Schalke. The former Ghana international made over 100 appearances for the Rossoneri and played a key role in the Scudetto-winning side of 2011.