Lazio to listen to offers for Stam
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Jaap Stam looks set to leave Lazio
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MILAN, Italy -- Lazio will listen to offers for Dutch defender Jaap Stam after the ex-Manchester United player rejected talks on extending his contract with the Serie A club.
Lazio general manager Giuseppe Matteo Masoni said the club could not afford to allow Stam to reach the end of his contract and then leave the club on a free transfer.
"The agreement with Stam will end on June 30, 2005 and we wont be taken by surprise. We now have to evaluate the offers that we now receive for the player," said Masoni.
Stam, who will be 32 in July, joined Lazio from Manchester United in 2001 after losing favour with United manager Alex Ferguson.
He played a key role in United's successful 1998-99 season, when they won the treble of the European Cup and the English Premier League and FA Cup.
Prior to joining United in 1998 he played for PSV Eindhoven, Willem II, Cambuur and Zwolle in his native Netherlands.
Lazio continue to have financial difficulties and recently lost their Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic, who was close to the end of his contract, on a cut-price deal to Inter Milan.
"In such a critical moment we would not do well for the club and its shareholders if we keep Stam till the end of his contract, when we would end up without the player and money that his eventual sale would bring to Lazio," added Masoni.
AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus have all been linked with moves for Stam, who is expected to play for the Netherlands against the United States on Wednesday.
