Corinthians to sign Chile midfielder

Rio de Janeiro, May 14 (IANS)

Johan Djourou of Arsenal battles with Claudio Maldonado of Fenerbahce during the UEFA Champions League, Group G match between Fenerbahce and Arsenal at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on October 21, 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions Corinthians are set to sign Chile international midfielder Claudio Maldonado.

The 33-year-old has been training at the Sao Paulo club since recovering from knee surgery in January and is expected to be offered a one-year contract within days, reports Xinhua.

“We are talking, it’s very advanced, but let’s wait until next week to finalize it. Maybe it will work out,” Corinthians’ director of football Roberto de Andrade said.

Maldonado was released by Flamengo last December after managing just nine matches in an injury-ravaged season with the Rio de Janeiro giants.

The former Colo-Colo and Fenerbahce holding midfielder has been capped 44 times for Chile since making his international debut in 2000.