Football: Inter's pounds 28m swap deal for Lazio's Vieri
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THE WORLD'S most expensive strike force will not even be playing in European competition next season after Internazionale signed the Italian international Christian Vieri for a world record pounds 28m from Lazio yesterday.
Inter will line up Vieri alongside the Brazilian Ronaldo, who cost the club pounds 18m when he signed from Barcelona two years ago, as they strive for the Serie A title. But fans of the club knocked out of the Champions' League at the quarter-final stage by the eventual winners, Manchester United, will have to wait until at least the 2000-01 season for a return to Continental competition after Inter failed to qualify for Europe. That does not appear to have deterred Vieri, who scored for Lazio in the final of the Cup-Winners' Cup at Villa Park last month.
The Argentinian midfielder Diego Simeone will move to Lazio in part exchange for the Australian-raised Vieri, who is expected to play for Italy in tonight's Euro 2000 qualifier in Switzerland.
The French striker Youri Djorkaeff and Italian international goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca are expected to leave Inter as the club's owner, Massimo Moratti, begins rebuilding the team following the arrival of a new coach, Marcello Lippi.
After meeting the Lazio president, Sergio Cragnotti, in a Rome hotel, Moratti claimed: "Vieri is an Inter player and he will play alongside Ronaldo next season."
However, Lazio said yesterday that the transfer was not yet finalised and a source close to the Rome club said Juventus were also interested in the striker. "Transfer talks over Christian Vieri are at a very advanced stage but up to now no deal has been initialled for the sale of the player," the club said in a statement.
Lazio's Cragnotti is making a handsome profit on the deal, having paid Atletico Madrid pounds 18m for the 25-year-old forward less than one year ago. Vieri started his career in Italy in the junior ranks at Torino, before spending three seasons in the Italian Second Division with Pisa, Ravenna and Venezia. His break came in 1995 when he signed for the Serie A club Atalanta, scoring seven goals in 19 first-team appearances.
Snapped up the following season by Juventus, he made a significant impression in the latter part of the season. However, to the fury of Juventus fans, the club sold him to Atletico Madrid that summer for pounds 12m. Vieri scored 24 goals in 24 matches for the Spanish club, becoming the Primera Liga's top goalscorer in 1997-98.
Italy's centre forward at France 98, he joined Lazio in August 1998 for another record fee. Vieri was out for more than two months at the start of last season, but his return from injury at the turn of the year coincided with Lazio's surge to lead Serie A until they were pipped to the title by Milan on the final day of the season.
WORLD'S TOP 10 TRANSFERS
1 Christian Vieri* pounds 28m
Lazio to Internazionale
2 Denilson pounds 22m
Sao Paolo to Real Betis
3 Rivaldo pounds 17m Deportivo to Barcelona
4 Christian Vieri pounds 17m
Atletico Madrid to Lazio
5 Ronaldo pounds 16.8m
Barcelona to Internazionale
6 Andriy Shevchenko* pounds 15.7m
Dynamo Kiev to Milan
7 Vincenzo Montella pounds 15.3m
Sampdoria to Roma
8 Alan Shearer pounds 15m
Blackburn to Newcastle
9 Dwight Yorke pounds 12.6m
Aston Villa to Manchester Utd
10 Christian Vieri pounds 11.9m
Juventus to Atletico Madrid
(*move to be completed)
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