Five-year Juventus deal spells new start for Mutu
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Your support makes all the difference.The sacked former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu has signed for the Italian Serie A side Juventus on a five-year deal, the club announced yesterday.
The sacked former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu has signed for the Italian Serie A side Juventus on a five-year deal, the club announced yesterday.
The 25-year-old was fired after failing a drugs test in October 2004 and subsequently banned for seven months. Chelsea, who brought the player to Stamford Bridge in August 2003 for £15.8m, effectively wrote off their investment when Mutu left the club.
The Romanian will not, however, be able to play for the Turin side until the ban expires on 18 May. He has plenty of Serie A experience, having played for Internazionale, Verona and Parma.
Mutu started well in London, scoring on his debut and then three more in his first three matches, but struggled to hold down a regular first-team place when Jose Mourinho succeeded Claudio Ranieri as manager.
Mourinho was no fan of - indeed, he grew suspicious of - Mutu's flamboyant lifestyle and it was inevitable a clash was on the cards, especially when the player defied his manager's orders and travelled to play for Romania while suffering from an injury. Mourinho revealed that he directed testers to Mutu, in answer to the forward's unpredictable behaviour.
Mutu could return to action at a crucial time for Juve as after 18 May, the club still have two matches to play in Serie A - they currently lead the table by four points from Milan.
Fabio Capello's men could also still be involved in the Champions' League with the final being played on 25 May.
The link with Juve may have come about as Mutu's new agent, Alessandro Moggi, is the son of club general director Luciano Moggi.
The club already possess an array of attacking talent with Alessandro Del Piero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Trezeguet in their ranks.
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