MENDIETA AGREES TO LAZIO SWITCH
The representatives of Mendieta, namely Gines Carvajal and Alberto Toldra, arrived in Rome to finalise the transfer of Spanish international.
The two clubs had previously agreed the fee and all that was missing was the player's agreement on personal terms. However, after several hours of negotiations in the Italian capital, the players agents and the Lazio president, Sergio Cragnotti, came to a mutually acceptable deal.
Carvajal, confirmed that there is a clause in the contract forbidding him to return to Spanish football for the next year.
If Mendieta was sold on to a Spanish club within the year, then the Roma giants would be hit with a 2,000 million pesetas bill from Valencia (£7.15 million), thus equalling the 10000 million peseta release clause that the player has with the Mestalla team.
Mendieta's arrival in Italian football makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in Europe.
It is reported that his basic annual earnings will be around 800 million pesetas (£2.86 million), dwarfing what he was earning at Valencia.
Mendieta will travel to Rome on Thursday and should sign the contract either later on Thursday or most probably Friday, after he undergoes the routine medical.
