CHRIS Judd has nominated the presence of chief executive Greg Swann in particular as a "huge factor" in the champion's decision to choose Carlton, which yesterday completed one of the recruiting coups of the past decade.

Judd yesterday told The Age that Swann — and his confidence in Carlton's administration — had been a significant reason for him choosing Carlton ahead of the other three clubs, including Swann's former club, Collingwood, from which the chief executive was poached on the eve of the 2007 season by Carlton's billionaire president Richard Pratt.

And Judd, while he said he had chosen Carlton on its merits, without considering trade machinations, Judd acknowledged that the fact that the Blues were well placed to do the deal with West Coast had been "a contributing factor" in his final decision.

"I wouldn't say it was a major factor, but I'd probably be lying if at least subconsciously it wasn't a contributing factor, yeah," Judd said.

"I'm not going to Carlton cause they (Collingwood) couldn't do the deal, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice that they (the Blues) could do it."

Judd was traded to Carlton yesterday for picks three and 20 and Josh Kennedy after Kennedy agreed to become a West Coast player. Judd will be given a long-term contract, probably five years, that will likely see him paid an average of more than $1 million for each year.

Judd, flanked by Swann and coach Brett Ratten, had earlier told a media conference that he picked Carlton in a "coin toss" with the Magpies and that he had relied on "gut feel" to make his decision, but the prospect of joining a club that was coming up from the bottom appealed to him.

"I didn't want to just come and feel like I was just riding on people's coat tails," he said. "I think some of it probably came down to wanting to be part of something from the bottom up."

Asked about Swann's influence, Judd, who had met the Carlton chief executive at the races in Melbourne last spring, said: "That was a huge factor, and I sort of touched on it today, that you can't separate, you know, the business of football and football. Because I guess running a successful AFL club costs so much money these days.

"Swanny was an enormous factor. He's regarded very highly among football circles as, you know, the job he does as CEO, and he's a good bloke too. So that was a really big part of it."

Judd said that all the four clubs that vied for his services — Essendon and Melbourne, in addition to Carlton and Collingwood — had presented "bloody well" and he had considered each of them "a genuine possibility".

"It wasn't so much there was anything wrong with the other three clubs, you know what I mean. I think people were trying to get … hoping that I'll say this was wrong with them, this was wrong with them. It just wasn't a factor. They all presented bloody well. But at the end you could only pick one. We picked Carlton.

"Every time I saw a club I thought long and hard, I thought it was a genuine possibility that I could play for them. I mean, it was a case of going back with a cool mind and looking at it without the emotion if you like, and try to make a decision. But it was still a hard decision."

While he was thought to favour the MCG, Judd said this wasn't "a big issue" given that he had chosen Carlton, which played most of its games at Telstra Dome.

Judd had earlier indicated that he had no wish to take the captaincy in his first season at Carlton. He later said he was unsure how he would react if the playing group wanted him to lead the team. "I'm not sure exactly what I'd do. I haven't given it a lot of thought. You can never predict how you'd react to such things.

"I'm not going to Carlton to promote myself as the next leader of the club … it's a big effort just settling in and assimilating with all the other people in the footy club, let alone trying to take on a leadership role."

Judd said he was progressing well in his recovery from adductor release surgery, and in perhaps six weeks, he would have a better idea of his condition. "But so far, so good … I'd be hoping by January I'd be going pretty much at a decent click."

While Judd said he would relish the chance to play in blockbuster matches for the Blues, it was clear that he saw Melbourne as a place where he would be left alone more than Perth.

Judd said he and partner Rebecca Twigley were not Melbourne's David and Victoria Beckham, as someone had dubbed them. "That's really not us. I want to play my footy, I want to train hard, you know, contribute as much as I can to this footy club, other than that, you know, I don't want to be a rock star."

Swann said he had first learned that Judd was a realistic chance to come back to Melbourne "six months" ago when this was suggested to him by Judd's manager, Paul Connors.

"Paul said it was a possibility, which I didn't think it was at the time, and as it got closer he kept persisting that it might happen, but I didn't know any more than anyone else until that fateful day when Chris said he was out. Then you swing into gear."

Swann expected Judd to bring substantial off-field benefits to Carlton. "You'd like to think there'll be an upsurge in all departments. I mean, I think the club's heading that way anyway … we've made $3 million this year, things are on the up. From a membership, merchandising point of view, it's an absolute bonus."

Judd said he planned to live in Melbourne's inner city.