Former Romanian football star Adrian Mutu (left), who played at international clubs such as Chelsea, Juventus, and Fiorentina, is the new general manager of local football club Dinamo Bucharest.

The move was announced by Dinamo’s majority shareholder, Romanian investor Ionut Negoita (right), on Wednesday, October 12.

Adrian Mutu, 37, started his professional footballer career at local team FC Arges, in 1996. He then moved to Dinamo Bucharest, for which he played between 1999 and 2000. He scored 22 goals in 33 matches for Dinamo.

He was then transferred abroad to Internazionale Milano, after which he played for Hellas Verona, Parma, and was transferred to Chelsea in 2003 for EUR 22.5 million, one of the highest transfer fees ever paid for a Romanian footballer. Although a favorite of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, Mutu had a difficult relationship with manager Jose Mourinho. In September 2004, he tested positive for cocaine and was dismissed by Chelsea.

He also served a seven-month ban. In 2008, a FIFA court ordered Mutu to pay EUR 17 million compensation to Chelsea for breach of contract.

Mutu continued his career in Italy at Juventus Torino, and returned to top shape at Fiorentina, for which he played between 2006 and 2011, during which period he scored 54 goals in 112 matches.

He also played 77 matches for Romania’s national team and scarred 35 goals, matching the record of legendary Romanian captain Gheorghe Hagi.

editor@romania-insider.com