Vieira leaves Juve for Inter

Patrick Vieira has left Juventus to sign a four-year contract with FC Internazionale Milano after the two clubs agreed a €9.5m transfer.

Back in Milan
The 30-year-old is the latest player to leave Juventus after they were stripped of the 2005/06 title and relegated to Serie B, following the Italian match-fixing tribunal. Internazionale were instead crowned champions and will return to the UEFA Champions League group stage in the coming campaign. It will not be Vieira's first San Siro spell as he played for AC Milan during the 1995/96 season before a hugely successful nine-year stay with Arsenal FC in England.

'Very happy'
Vieira had been linked with a return to the north London club, especially after being given a rapturous reception during a testimonial for Dennis Bergkamp last week. There had also been a suggestion that Manchester United FC were interested in partnering him with new midfielder Michael Carrick. But Vieira was keen to remain in Italy. "I'm very happy to be staying in Italy and especially to have the chance of playing for Inter, a prestigious and ambitious team," he said. "I'm confident we can win several trophies together."

World Cup form
The Senegal-born Vieira, who began his career with AS Cannes, has been capped 96 times by France and had a major role in their run to the 2006 FIFA World Cup final. It came on the back of his first term with Juventus, where he played 31 league games after the club paid Arsenal €20m for his services. Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Emerson have already left the Turin side this summer, while Inter have been recruiting the likes of Italy defender Fabio Grosso.