© EuroFootball.com
The defender of the Dutch national team Jaap Stam will play for the champions of Italy next season, as announced by the official club website. The 31-year-old player has signed a two-year contract with his new club, valid until June 30, 2006. Milan will pay €10.5 million (around 36 million litas) to Lazio, the club to which the player belonged, for his transfer. Saying goodbye to Lazio in an interview with a Rome radio station, Stam expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Lazio. You will always be in my heart..." Rumors about this transfer have been circulating in the press for some time now, and a couple of weeks ago there were reports that the player's agent had announced that an agreement had been reached. However, immediately after that Stam denied these reports on his official website, but did not rule out the possibility of moving from financially troubled Rome club, Lazio, to Milan to play for one of the teams in this city. Yesterday all doubts were dispelled, as Stam announced that he will leave his current club but stay to play in Italy. Later in the evening, the vice president of Milan confirmed that the player will officially sign the contract on Monday. This is the second high-class defender that Milan has acquired from Lazio in the past 2 years. In August 2002, the symbol of the Rome club at that time, who used to be Stam's teammate, left for Milan. Now both players are together again and will be able to form a solid defensive line in the center.
