Adrian Mutu Owes Somebody Some Scrilla

We see it in all sports: athletes in the last year of their contract often rise to unseen new heights and turn in career years. Who knows why, but they do. So maybe we’ll see an Adrian Mutu on another planet this summer, because it’s not about greed, he now needs that money.

You see, for his little faux pas involving Pablo Escobar’s nose candy back with Chelsea which saw him net a lengthy suspension, he now owes the struggling London club a payment of €12m for lost poundage - actually a chunk more than Chelsea wanted, somewhat surprisingly. True justice, because Roman Abramovich needs the money.

Adrian and his people probably saw this coming, so they had a plan in motion. They’ve been looking for an increased salary after Mutu had a fantastic season for Fiorentina, one which finally saw them into the Champions League.

Problem is, Fiorentina has a €1.5m salary cap and, at 29, Mutu would have to play 8 straight years at that kind of cash to pay off Chelsea. (Gazzetta says he makes €1.5m, but he almost surely makes a bit more.) For all his wonderful contributions to la Viola this year, he’s not getting the big contract in Firenze. They’re a cautious, financially prudent outfit.

So Panty Corvino, one of Italy’s best assessors of talent, is seemingly ready to put him out front with a good ole For Sale sign on his back:

“Adrian remains Fiorentina’s best paid player, even with Gilardino’s contract taken into account. In these years he has always shown love for this club, so if he is now making this type of demand it is possible there are other sides behind it.”

“I know that Amauri was sold to Juventus for €25m. If someone thinks Adrian is less talented, then he is valued at less than €25m, but vice-versa if he is considered better.”

Of course, those other clubs could be a whole slew of suitors ready to pay the man what he wants, namely Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. (Daryl thinks he should play off his debts for Chelsea, I think that’s brilliant.)

But what does this mean for the Euros? As I said, we’ve all seen guys punch above their weight for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But now Mutu needs it. Could he heap Romania onto his back - more than he already is - for that huge contract and get out of jail card? Or will it just be extra baggage? We’ll see on Monday.

And might I say, that was one expensive eight ball.