29/06/2008 11
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Zarate Announces Lazio Switch
Mauro Zarate has announced to the Argentinean media that he has agreed to join Lazio, and that the deal is set to be announced imminently.
»Comments (2) Print This Story Send To A Friend Contact Us galleria zoom The Al-Sadd striker, who spent the latter half of last season on loan at Birmingham City, was also a target for Portsmouth. However, the player himself announced last night that the deal to take him to the Stadio Olimpico is already complete.
Al-Sadd are insisting on a high fee for their star turn, and with Lazio’s delicate finances, a complex agreement has been reportedly set in place.
Zarate would arrive at the club initially on loan for a fee of £2.4 million, with a three-year buy-out clause. Lazio would pay a further £4.4 million by June 2009 and another £6.7 in 2010. The subtotal of the deal would be in the region of £13 million.
Lazio club president Claudio Lotito insists that the contract has not been deposited as yet, and he will therefore not announce the transfer.
He told the Italian media: “I am accustomed to only announcing a signing after I have deposited the contract with the authorities and this has not happened yet. Therefore it is not true that we have already captured Zarate. We are working on three top class objectives and hope to land at least one.”
However, his announcement was at odds with what the player himself had to say to the media in his homeland.
Zarate said: “At last! I am happy. This is a dream come true.”
This morning, the Corriere dello Sport speculated that the deal had been agreed between Lazio and Al-Sadd, with only contracts to be signed.
According to the paper, Zarate will officially become a Biancoceleste on July 8. 