Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu cannot pay the €17,173,990 owed
to Chelsea as compensation after being sacked by the
club for cocaine abuse in 2004.
The Londoners terminated his contract in 2004 after he tested
positive for the illegal substance. A bitter legal wrangle ensued
in which Mutu was ordered to pay the club compensation by
FIFA.
That was disputed at CAS (the court for abitration for sport),
but they upheld FIFA's decision which was based on the striker
breaking the terms of his deal.
Mutu then appealed to the Swiss Federal Court against the CAS's
decision, but they too threw this out, ordering him to hand over
the cash earlier this year.
However, La Gazzetta dello Sport now claims he doesn't
have the funds to pay off his former side.
The Blues have reportedly turned to the courts in the United States
to seize €6 million worth of assets Mutu has there, but those have
been put in the names of others, meaning Chelsea cannot touch
them.