Free At Last! (That’s Us, Not Him), Or: Chivu Deal Essentially Done

I know I will end up regretting writing this when the whole thing blows up in Roma’s faces again, but media all over Italy (as well as his girlfriend) insist the deal that will, at long last, send Christian Chivu to Inter has been finalized and just needs everyone’s signatures to become official.

Roma, you see, have been in a renewed rush to get rid of the Romanian/convince their fans he’s a great guy because they don’t want waves of boos to be part of their 80th birthday celebration tomorrow. And, since the latter clearly was never going to happen, talks resumed this week: Roma reportedly wanted €11 million plus Azzurrini defender Marco Adreolli, but neither Massimo Moratti nor Roberto Mancini were willing to part with the lad, and an agreement on a cash-only deal of €15 million was apparently reached late yesterday.

That compromise between the clubs wouldn’t have made the deal go through, though, had Chivu himself not decreased his salary demands from €4.5 million to €3.5 million/year. (Poor man. I hope he can get enough to eat with that little cash on hand.) As Chris pointed out yesterday, the defender could have earned that much at Roma with the extension they offered him, but that ship sailed so long ago it’s hard to remember it even existed. And, since at this point Chivu at Roma is about as appealing an option for everyone involved, as getting into the ring with one of Michael Vick’s dogs, the defender actually did something helpful and managed to put his ego to the side in order to end a horrendous situation. (One wonders what he’d do with that extension offer if he could go back in time, knowing what he knows now.)

So. Barring another crisis, the deal should be announced later today — hell, Chivu might even end up making the trip to England with Inter on Friday.

Edit: Rosella says “the agreement lacks.” Lord. Buckle up, kids: This may not be over.

Edit the second: Done and done (thanks to Chris for the link): €14.5 million plus half-ownership of Andreolli. 

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Category: Inter, Roma, Rumors & News, Serie A