Chelsea will take Juventus to a FIFA dispute panel this week as they continue their bid to reclaim compensation from former striker Adrian Mutu, Britain's Press Association reported on Tuesday.
The Romanian striker was sacked by the Stamford Bridge club in 2004 after he tested positive for cocaine and Chelsea have been chasing money lost in signing him ever since.
After the sacking, Mutu served a seven-month ban before joining Juventus via another Italian side, Livorno, who acted as an intermediary in the deal.
Courts in Switzerland, where FIFA, world football's governing body, is based, have ordered Mutu to pay 17.2 million euros (£14.65m, $22.4m) in compensation to Chelsea but no money has yet been paid.
Chelsea are now pursuing action against Juve and Livorno, holding them to be responsible because they signed him for nothing.
He had initially signed for the Blues for £15.8 million from Parma, while Juve eventually sold him to Fiorentina.
FIFA's dispute resolution chamber will listen to the case in Zurich this week, while Chelsea have also taken legal steps to try to claim three properties bought by Mutu in Miami worth several million pounds in total.
"We are exercising our legal remedies to recover the amounts owed to us and we will continue to do so," a Chelsea spokesman told the Press Association.
Mutu, now 34, is currently playing in France's Ligue 1 for Ajaccio, with whom he has scored eight goals this season.
Source: AFP
