Baptista Flies To Rome To Sign Contract

Roma target Julio Baptista has flown to the Eternal City to talk with the Giallorossi and sign a deal with the club according to Sportmediaset.

Aug 10, 2008 10:47:29 AM

Julio Baptista - Barcelona-Real Madrid (Marca)

Teams

Luciano Spalletti’s side are on the verge of landing their man after both Real Madrid and Roma reached an agreement over Baptista’s transfer fee, around €12m.

Sportmediaset claims the player has already left the Spanish capital and boarded a flight to Rome in order to put the finishing touches on his new deal.

He is expected to put pen to paper on Monday should he pass a medical at Roma’s Trigoria headquarters. The Brazilian will sign a four year deal worth €2.5m per season, which hits Roma’s salary cap right on the knuckle.

The Giallorossi have been after the ‘Beast’ all summer but Real were playing hard ball as their attentions were distracted by the Cristiano Ronaldo saga.

Los Merengues’ recent signing of Rafael van der Vaart seems to have opened the door to the Brazilian's exit as negotiations regarding the transfer to Roma went through the roof once the Dutchman landed in Madrid.

Baptista’s arrival will go down well at the Olimpico as he is what the Giallorossi needed given their ambitions in both the Scudetto and Champions League.

Salvatore Landolina