RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazil international center-back Rodrigo Caio has joined Flamengo on a five-year contract after parting ways with Sao Paulo, the Rio de Janeiro club said on Saturday.

The 25-year-old will begin training with his new teammates next month and is Flamengo's first signing for the 2019 season.

"Welcome Rodrigo, you are now a part of the Flamengo family," the club said in a social media post.

Caio, who had been linked with a move to Barcelona in recent weeks, represented Sao Paulo 277 times after making his professional debut as a 17-year-old in 2011.

He has been capped four times for Brazil's national side and was a member of the team that won the country's first football Olympic gold medal at the Rio 2016 Games.