CRISTIAN CHIVU

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It was highly anticipated that Cristian Chivu would be an important player for Inter Milan this season after just extending his contract in the summer. However, the Romanian defender has been out for most of the season due to a foot injury and he recently underwent an operation. His future in the game is in serious doubt since he does not have a contract beyond the end of the season. At 33 years of age, it is looking unlikely that he may return to be the player he once was at the likes of Roma. Chivu has been one of the finest defenders in Italian football over the last decade.

He has been at Inter Milan for several years now, but the 33-year-old was widely speculated to be on the verge of leaving the club in the summer. He ended up staying after signing a new one-year extension, but that extension is about to expire. The defender is widely expected to announce his retirement after undergoing the third operation in his right foot. He is suffering from a ligament injury that is a recurring constantly. Former Roma manager Luciano Spalletti has extended his support to the player, who he once managed at Roma.

“Chivu is a great man as much as he is a great player. With me, we understood each other immediately and he put himself at my disposal, thanks to his ability to play multiple roles. His best characteristic, however, was to be open-minded and try to lend a hand to anyone who asked him for help. He is a great man and the results I obtained in Rome I owe some thanks to the value of Chivu,” said the former Roma coach, who last managed Zenit St Petersburg a few years ago.

Inter have been struggling with out of the presence of Chivu at the back.

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Cristian Chivu has failed to make an appearance for Inter Milan in this season and he recently released a message via social media stating that he needs another operation and that he has already agreed a contract termination with the Italian club.

“To all the Inter fans and those who care about me. I wanted to announce two things.

“The first is that I require another complex operation, so it will be difficult to predict my future as a player. At this moment what interests me is my life as a man, being healthy, whole and calm.

“The second is that I met with the club, we talked about my future and found a solution which we will shortly let you know about. I thank you for your understanding, Cristian Chivu.”

His last appearance with Inter Milan was back in May of 2013 when his club went head to head with Napoli and suffered a 3-1 defeat. The contract of the Romanian defender runs up until June of the current year but his stay with the Italian club will finish earlier.

Cristian Chivu’s agent, Victor Becali spoke up about the situation that his client is going through as well as confirming the desire that Chivu has on leaving the club.

“The fact of having made money without playing shames him a lot, he does not want to continue like this. He has health problems and does not want to take advantage of Inter’’. Becali stated.

Chivu left As.Roma in 2007 and joined Inter Milan where he managed to become a fundamental part of the club as they secured 3 consecutive Serie A titles as well as grabbing hold of the historical treble with Jose Mourinho in 2010.

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Dispelling rumours about his future, Cristian Chivu signed a contract extension with Inter Milan at the end of last season. This one-year contract extension was expected to give Inter Milan continuity and experience at the back under the new management of Walter Mazzarri. However, the Romanian defender has spent most of the season on the sidelines because of a foot injury. His contract comes to an end this campaign and speculation has once again begun about his future at the San Siro. His agent has spoken about his client’s position by saying that Chivu is not focused on his contract.

Instead, he is only looking to return back from injury and help his team achieved a top three finish in the league, which will take them back to Champions league football. Inter failed to even qualify for the Europa league last season. This was expected to be a major assistance towards their push for a Champions League place this season. After a good start to the campaign, Inter Milan have been slowly slipping down the league and they are fifth in the table just after the winter break.

They have already 10 points behind Napoli, who occupy the final qualifying spot with 42 points. The title looks out of question since Juventus lead the table with 52 points.

“He’s working to get back on the field after the bad injury he had. When will he make his return? Perhaps by the end of February. His future? We’re not thinking about it right now. Chivu has to recover, then we’ll see what happens,” said Cristian Chivu’s agent. The likes of Fiorentina and Roma have been able to do well ahead of Inter Milan, who face the prospect of yet another season without Champions League football. The Italian club won this competition back in 2010.

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The Italian club that sold the 70% stake to the Indonesian business man Erick Thohir as Massimo Moratti stepped down from the position and now will remain being an Honorary President lost the chance to get into higher positions in Serie A after only claiming a 1-1 draw against Bologna.

Bologna is a club that is struggling just to remain in the Italian side trying to stay away from the relegation zone but still managed to snatch 1 point against Inter Milan as the team played in a surprisingly disappointing fashion.

Walter Mazzari spoke about the match and told the Italian media:

“If we want to stay at the top level, then we can’t keep throwing points away like this,” Mazzarri told Sky Sport Italia after the game.

“We created even more chances than usual. It looked like the goal was cursed and in these situations you can even lose.

“We had a series of naive errors on Bologna’s goal and it made the game an uphill struggle. We missed the seemingly impossible, but that is football and if you don’t take your chances then you don’t win.”

Inter Milan was expected to come out as the victorious side but they could only manage to secure 1 point out of the match and sees Inter Milan sitting in 4^th place behind the table toppers Juventus by 8 points and their objective getting further and further out of the reach of Walter Mazzarri’s side.

As they are not participating neither in the Champions League nor the Europa League it will be even further disappointment if they fail to make a real challenge towards the silverware of Italy, The Scudetto.

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