Corinthians eager to drop Adriano

Rio de Janeiro - Brazilian football club Corinthians wants to release former Brazilian striker Adriano for indiscipline.

The news comes after the athlete decided to skip a team practice, resulting in his suspension Wednesday from playing in a friendly match against Portuguesa, Xinhua reported.

Adriano’s contract with Corinthians expires in June. With six months remaining in his contract, the athlete will be able to sign a pre-contract with another club. The club honchos at Corinthians are hoping this happens as soon as possible.

Since his arrival at Corinthians, Adriano has only played in a handful of games due to injuries and resulting surgeries.

Due to the little amount of football actually played by the athlete, the off-field problems and his expressed lack of commitment by not appearing to a number of practices, the club is counting down the days until his contract expires.

The marketing strategy of bringing in Adriano has backfired. The club now has the foresight to bring in future athletes that will still be able to be re-sold or traded at a high value, something they fear will not happen with Adriano in June.

Regardless, Adriano does not fit into the club’s plans for the second semester of 2012.

- IANS