World Kick Off

Christian Chivu’s agent, Giovanni Becali, believes his client will remain at Inter but he has not ruled out a move to Spanish giants Barcelona.

Reports in Italy have suggested that Chivu’s future at Inter is looking bleak with the imminent arrival of former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese tactician is an admirer of Chivu but he is likely to try and sign his beloved Riccardo Carvalho from Chelsea. This could cause problems for the Romanian defender and there is a possibility that he may leave San Siro.

“Chivu is a player which Mourinho likes a lot and so I think that the Nerazzurri wouldn’t want to deprive themselves of him,” Becali told Teleradistereo.

“However, in football, you can never say never and if Barcelona put down a €20m offer then we would open talks with them.

“But, as I said before, Chivu has just won the league and he enjoyed a great season with Inter and so it’s unlikely he will leave.

“I am good friends with Barcelona directors and a couple of days ago I was involved in a football match with Guardiola but we didn’t talk about Chivu.”

The Romanian international signed from Roma last year in a €16m deal and Barcelona would have to stump up more than this if they are to have a chance of luring him to Camp Nou.

There are fears that Mourinho will off-load several players when he arrives and Chivu could be one of them. He may even propose a Chivu - Carvalho swap deal with Chelsea.

Salvatore Landolina