Career Adrian Mutu

Adrian Mutu (born 8 January 1979) is a Romanian striker and attacking midfielder who plays for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina and the Romanian national team.

Dinamo Bucureşti

His strong performances for Dinamo Bucureşti meant that Mutu did not spend long playing in the Romanian capital. He scored 22 goals in 33 games in total and played an important role in Dinamo's league and Romanian Cup success. However by the time that Dinamo lifted these trophies, Mutu had already left to play for Internazionale.

Internazionale

Having joined Inter midway through the season, Mutu made an immediate impact on his debut for the Italian side, in the Coppa Italia scoring within nine minutes of his appearance against derby rivals AC Milan to help Inter to a 3-2 victory. However, Mutu failed to replicate his form in Serie A, playing only ten games for the Nerazzurri without scoring. In 2000, Mutu was sold to Verona in co-ownership deal. In June 2001, Verona bought Mutu outright.

Parma

In the 2002-03 season, Mutu was loaned to Parma with the option to purchase him outright. At Parma, he met coach Cesare Prandelli (also at La Viola) and partnered Adriano Leite Ribeiro to form a deadly striking duo. He also met Sébastien Frey, Marco Marchionni and Alberto Gilardino who all later played for Fiorentina.

Chelsea

In August 2003, Chelsea paid Parma €22.5m (around £15.8m) for Mutu's transfer as part of new owner Roman Abramovich's spending spree, He started with four goals in three matches, including two in a 4–2 victory over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but Mutu scored fewer goals as the season progressed.

In the 2004–05 season, Mutu had a difficult relationship with the club's new manager José Mourinho, with each accusing the other of lying about whether the player was injured for a World Cup qualifying match against the Czech Republic. In September 2004, he failed a drugs test for cocaine and was sacked on 29 October 2004. He also received a 7 month ban and a £20,000 fine from the Football Association. The ban ended on 18 May 2005.

Juventus

Mutu signed a five-year contract with the Italian club Juventus on 12 January 2005, despite still being banned from football until 18 May. As Juventus had no available room to buy another non-EU player from abroad, the move also involved fellow Serie A club Livorno, who signed the player and contemporaneously sold him to Juventus. He made his first appearance on 29 May 2005, coming on as a substitute in the 57th minute of the last match of the season which was a 4–2 win over Cagliari. During the 2005–06 season, he scored seven goals in his 20 league match and 12 substitute appearances for Juventus. In the UEFA Champions League he made three starts and five substitute appearances and scored against Rapid Wien.

Fiorentina

On 8 July 2006, Fiorentina announced that they had signed Mutu for €8 million from relegated Juventus which both clubs involved in the 2006 Italian football scandal. This reunited Mutu with his former manager at Parma, Cesare Prandelli. Mutu formed a productive partnership with then Fiorentina striker Luca Toni (now at Roma)—the pair scored 32 goals in the 2006–07 season. He was named the best player of the season by “Il Calcio”, due to his 16 goals and eight assists in 33 games.

In July 2008, A.S. Roma made a reported €18 to 20 million offer to sign him outright, But Mutu hinted that he may remain in Florence and eventually signed a new contact reported last to 2012.

On 30 November 2008, at his 200th match in Serie A, Mutu was chosen to captain Fiorentina in the game against Roma. On 2 February 2009, he scored his 100th and 101st Serie A goals against Bologna. On 15 February 2009, Mutu scored his first hat-trick with Fiorentina. After going 3–0 down against Genoa, Mutu converted a penalty, a free kick, and scored again in the final second of extra time, bringing the final score to 3–3. Despite a difficult elbow injury, Mutu managed to finish the 2008-2009 season with 14 goals, along with Gilardino they were one of the top ten single season striker partnerships in Viola history with 33 goals between them.