Modest French club Ajaccio on Wednesday confirmed the signing of Romanian international striker Adrian Mutu from Italian second-tier side Cesena on a two-year contract.
The 33-year-old, who counts Chelsea, Juventus, Inter Milan and Fiorentina among his former clubs, had agreed to join the Corsican side last week.
Mutu is under contract with Cesena until 2014 and must now negotiate his departure from the Italian side, who have reneged on salary payments to a player who was reported to earn 1.6 million euros ($1.99 million) a year.
"He'll be in Ajaccio on Monday," club president Alain Orsoni told AFP.
"He'll undergo a medical examination on Tuesday morning and will sign a two-year contract in the afternoon."
Mutu announced his arrival on his Twitter account (@adrianmutu) on Wednesday, writing in Italian: "Ajaccio, I'm coming! On Monday, I'll be in Corsica."
The Romania star is in line to make his Ajaccio debut in a league match against Evian on September 1.
Ajaccio have the third-smallest budget in Ligue 1 and the acquisition of Mutu represents their second major coup in the space of 12 months, after the signing of Mexico international goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa last year.
Mutu has spent 10 seasons in Italy, scoring 86 goals in 213 matches and playing a role in Juventus' 2006 title success, which was later rescinded due to the 'Calciopoli' match-fixing affair.
He nonetheless arrives with a reputation as a troublemaker, having tested positive for cocaine during his time at Chelsea in 2004, which earned him a record 17-million-euro ($21.2 million) fine from world governing body FIFA.
He also tested positive for the banned substance sibultramine in 2010.
Source: AFP
