updated 8:06 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2006

CHICAGO - Alfonso Soriano seemed surprised Monday when informed he’d agreed to the fifth-richest contract in baseball history.

“Thank you for telling me,” the newest member of the Cubs said. “Like I said before, I’m not even thinking about the money. I’m happy to be here in Chicago. ... Everybody wants to win, so that’s the most important for me.”

Soriano, the most-sought after free agent on the market, passed a physical Monday and the Cubs announced they had agreed to a $136 million, eight-year contract. It’s the first deal of eight years or more in the major leagues since Scott Rolen’s $90 million, eight-year extension with St. Louis in September 2002.

“It’s a big contract, but that’s not my goal,” Soriano said. “My goal is to play hard and give you a championship for the city. That’s my goal. It’s not about the contract.”

The deal came together quickly when Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and manager Lou Piniella met with Soriano during the general managers meetings last week in Naples, Fla. Soriano’s agent, Pat Rooney, told Hendry on Saturday that he would sign with Chicago if a contract could be worked out.

“This was my first experience as a free agent. It surprised me a little bit this quick, but I think it works out for me and the team because I think they have now a chance to make another deal and other teams have chance to make a deal, too,” Soriano said.

Chicago had been dealing before the Cubs latched onto Soriano. Earlier they’d re-signed Aramis Ramirez to a $75 million, five-year contract — the biggest in club history until Soriano’s deal trumped it.

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“Once we re-signed Aramis, he was our target guy. We clearly felt he was the best free agent on the market,” Hendry said. “I think we’re all surprised and happy that the player and his representatives wanted to act so quickly. Usually these type players end up being high stress and high-stakes poker right down to the end.”

Soriano’s deal trails only those of Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years) and Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years).

Hendry said Soriano will bat leadoff, but his outfield position has not been determined. But once he’s put in either center, right or left, that’s where he’ll stay.

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He isn’t worried that Soriano, who turns 31 in January, will tail off drastically by the end of the deal.

“He’s lean. He’s like a greyhound, this guy. He’s some kind of an athlete, and that’s a very, very young body for his age,” Hendry said. “Who knows if somebody is going to be as productive at 38 as they are at 30 or 31. But, like I said, there’s a lot of guys in this game right now swinging the bat at a very high level in their late 30s or even early 40s.”

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