In 2004 Chelsea FC released Adrian Mutu on the grounds of a positive drug test and sought compensation from Juventus and Livorno for a breach of contract. The Blues appealed the FIFA and were granted a compensation in 2013 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Juventus and Livorno were both part of the transfer of Mutu and both the clubs also appealed to FIFA.
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On Wednesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sports came out with a verdict that the grounds on which Chelsea sought compensation are completely baseless and thus dismissed them.
Juventus came out with an official statement regarding this case which said,
“Juventus Fooball Club announces today that the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne has notified us of the decision made by the arbitrators in the dispute that pitted Chelsea against Juventus regarding the signing of Adrian Mutu.
“The arbitrators have completely dismissed the demands made by Chelsea FC, ordering them (the London club) to pay the legal costs of the case.
“This ruling has no effect on the financial balance of Juventus Football Club because the club, fully aware of being in the right, chose not to allow for any risk in funds over the developing litigation.”
After the transfer from Chelsea, Mutu moved to Juventus in May 2005 but he couldn’t play in the first team as the quota of non- EU players in the team was full. Italian counterpart, Livorno then opted for a free transfer of Mutu from Juventus, till the time Juventus could jettison one of their non- EU players. Mutu made his first team appearance for Juventus in May 2005 and then made a move to Fiorentina in July 2006 for a sum of 8 million Euros.
In all honesty, Chelsea could have avoided such a long standing battle which not only drained them financially but also dented their image, a situation which they could have easily avoided if they just let Mutu go. Juventus on the other hand played this beautifully. They analyzed the situation and assorted their funds carefully in the litigation which resulted in them not being dented in any way financially and their club reputation remaining unscathed.
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Mutu came to Chelsea from Parma for a sum of 15 million pounds and made 30 appearances for the club scoring 10 goals in the process. He got into a huge controversy for failing a common drug test. Chelsea with their strict policy of a zero tolerance towards drug use took the harshest possible step by sacking the player without any regard for his contract.
Adrian Mutu lost all his legal battles with Chelsea FC and retired from football earlier this month after playing his last season with Petrolul Ploiesti.