FILE: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Juventus and former-Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira is set to sign for Inter Milan

Juventus midfielder Patrick Vieira is to sign for Inter Milan, part of an exodus of players from the Turin club following Italy's match-fixing scandal. Inter's owner Massimo Moratti told reporters that Tuesday was Vieira's last day with Juventus and he would sign a four-year contract with Inter on Wednesday. "He should sign the contract tomorrow," an Inter spokesman quoted Moratti as saying, adding that Vieira was in Milan on Tuesday for a medical checkup. Former Arsenal captain Vieira would be the latest player to leave Juventus after the club was relegated to Serie B for conspiring with referees and linesmen to rig games during the 2004-05 season. The departures of Italy's World Cup captain Fabio Cannavaro, Brazilian midfielder Emerson, and defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram have raised fears that Juventus could struggle to win immediate promotion back to Serie A. Juventus coach Didier Deschamps said last week that no more of his players would be leaving the club. However, the Gazzetta dello Sport said on Tuesday that AC Milan were trying to sign both Juventus's Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Inter were awarded the 2005-06 Italian league title last week after a sports tribunal revoked Juventus's title win due to the match-fixing scandal.

ITN Source | August 2, 2006

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