ROME: Christian Eriksen has terminated his contract with Inter Milan by mutual consent six months after suffering a heart incident playing for Denmark at the European Championships.
The 29-year-old has been fitted with a pacemaker. That means he is not allowed to play in Italian football, but other championships do not have the same rules.
“Internazionale Milano can confirm that an agreement has been reached to terminate Christian Eriksen’s contract by mutual consent,” the Italian club said.
“Although Inter and Christian are now parting ways, the bond shall never be broken. The good times, the goals, the victories, those Scudetto celebrations with fans outside San Siro — all this will remain forever in Nerazzurri history.”
Eriksen will now be free to consider his options with other potential clubs, and has recently been in training with his boyhood club Odense.
According to the Danish daily B.T, Eriksen mainly focused on physical exercises, but also trained with a ball, although this is not currently with a view to playing for them.
“Christian Eriksen is using the pitch for his rehabilitation” but “he is not training with our team,” Odense’s communications officer Rasmus Nejstgaardhad told AFP.
The former Tottenham man suffered a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s opening game at Euro 2020 against Finland in Copenhagen on June 12 and had to be resuscitated on the pitch.
Denmark then rode a wave of emotion at the tournament, reaching the semifinals.
The playmaker spent several days in hospital and had a pacemaker implanted to regulate his heartbeat, which would rule him out of even going to a gym in Italy.
Eriksen’s departure from Inter comes just days after Argentina striker Sergio Aguero announced the end of his professional career at the age of 33 following heart problems.
The former Manchester City striker signed a two-year deal with Barcelona but had made just five appearances, scoring one goal against Real Madrid, before being taken to hospital with “chest pains” after a match at home to Alaves in October.
Financially, Inter Milan, who are deep in the red, will make some savings by parting company with their biggest earner, although Eriksen’s salary, estimated at 7.5 million euros by the Italian press, was covered for a year under a FIFA insurance system.
Eriksen was a key member of Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham side that were runners-up in the Premier League in 2016/17 and then reached the Champions League final in 2019.
The Dane joined Inter in January 2020 and after initial problems settling into Antonio Conte’s system, was a driving force in their charge to a 19th Scudetto earlier this year.
Eriksen was unveiled at the Scala opera house in Milan when he joined Inter. Italian media reported on Friday that the club planned a tribute at their San Siro stadium before a game in early 2022.
The club posted a letter to Eriksen on their website praising his role in bringing the Scudetto back to the club last season.
“Christian was a key figure in our march to the Scudetto — a team effort to which Eriksen contributed with his vision, intuition, passing, assists and goals, including some big ones. Against Napoli. Against Crotone, in what ultimately clinched the title. Then another delightful free-kick to celebrate the title at San Siro on the last day of the season,” the note said.
“That is our final, happy, wistful memory of Christian.”
Denmark’s Eriksen leaves Inter Milan ‘by mutual consent’
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Denmark’s Eriksen leaves Inter Milan ‘by mutual consent’
- The 29-year-old has been fitted with a pacemaker
- He is not allowed to play in Italian football, but other championships do not have the same rules
Shakib Al-Hasan shines as MI Emirates down table-toppers Desert Vipers by 4 wickets
- All-round performance helped move the team back to second in the points table
DUBAI: MI Emirates registered a composed four-wicket victory over the table toppers Desert Vipers to seal their third straight win in the DP World ILT20 Season 4 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After a disciplined bowling performance in the first innings, MI Emirates overcame early pressure before Kieron Pollard and Shakib Al-Hasan guided the team to victory.
The Desert Vipers managed to score 124 courtesy of Dan Lawrence’s gritty 35 off 34 balls, but MI Emirates navigated a tricky chase with relative ease. With the ball, spinner Al-Hasan’s two wickets for 14 runs led the charge and kept the Vipers in check, before Zahoor Khan’s death bowling ensured the total remained below par.
In reply, MI Emirates stumbled in the powerplay and lost momentum in the middle overs, but Pollard’s 26 off 15 balls flipped the contest decisively. Even after his dismissal, Al-Hasan held firm to see the chase through, striking the winning boundary to complete a controlled four-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
MI Emirates endured a slow powerplay as the Vipers applied sustained pressure. David Payne set the tone early, removing Jonny Bairstow (5 off 5), while Lockie Ferguson struck to dismiss Muhammad Waseem (18 off 13). They finished the powerplay with 35/2 on the board.
The batting side lost momentum through the middle overs as the Vipers bowlers tightened the screws. Nicholas Pooran (17 off 17) mounted a brief counterattack with two sixes but was trapped LBW by Lawrence. Wickets fell at regular intervals, including Tom Banton (10 off 10) being bowled by a sharp Qais Ahmad delivery.
Then, skipper Pollard swung the momentum decisively, taking Ahmad apart with a pair of sixes in the 15th over that turned the chase in MI Emirates’ favor. He was eventually dismissed by Matiullah Khan, but Al-Hasan (17* off 25) held his nerve, anchoring the finish before striking the winning boundary off Matiullah to close the chase at 124/6 in 17.3 overs.
In the first innings, the Vipers made a subdued start in the powerplay, as Chris Woakes was excellent up front, conceding just 15 runs from his three overs. Allah Ghazanfar struck the key blow by removing Max Holden (20 off 18). Fakhar Zaman (13 off 13) tried to build momentum, but the lack of boundaries and regular dots ensured the Vipers were restricted to 35/1 after six overs.
MI Emirates tightened their grip through the middle overs as Al-Hasan struck twice in a miserly spell to remove Zaman and Sam Curran (4 off 4), conceding just eight runs in two overs. Arab Gul added to the pressure by dismissing Hasan Nawaz (13 off 19), leaving the Vipers reeling after losing three wickets in as many overs and the score at 54/4 at the halfway mark of their innings.
Lawrence and Jason Roy (14 off 18) showed intent in patches, adding a cautious stand of 42 runs in 40 balls, but boundaries were scarce. Al-Hasan capped an outstanding spell, leaving the Vipers with little impetus. Khan delivered a decisive final over, finishing with two for 17, as regular wickets in the death overs ensured the Vipers were kept in check, leaving MI Emirates a manageable target of 125 to seal the chase.
Al-Hasan said: “It was a surface that suited the spinners, and the focus was on hitting the right areas consistently. I was able to do that today, which was pleasing. I’m glad it helped the team. Batting wasn’t easy on this pitch either. With so many powerful hitters in our lineup, someone needed to play the anchoring role, and I was happy to take on that responsibility to make sure we finished the chase.”
Desert Vipers stand-in skipper Curran commented: “It was another low-scoring game on a tricky surface. The pitch was slow, and facing a side like MI Emirates, who have high-quality spinners with a lot of variation, made it even tougher. Despite that, I thought our bowlers put in a strong effort. With qualification already secured, we chose to rotate the squad, and what happened to Lockie reinforces the importance of managing workloads.”
