Riise leaves Liverpool

Roma have completed the signing of Liverpool left-back John Arne Riise for just less than £4m.

The Norway international will join the capital club on July 1 on a four-year deal worth £2.2m to the player.

A statement on the club’s official website, www.asroma.it, read: “AS Roma announce they have reached an agreement with Liverpool Football Club for the acquisition of the sporting rights of the player John Arne Riise with effect from July 1 2008.”

The statement continued: “AS Roma will also pay Liverpool Football Club the following sums: €100,000 (£79,250) per season should Roma qualify for the UEFA Champions League in 2009/10 and 2010/11.

“Furthermore, Liverpool FC will also receive €75,000 (£60,000) for every 25 official matches the player participates in, up to a maximum of €300,000 (£237,550).”

Riise leaves Merseyside after seven seasons with Liverpool, whom he joined from Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2001.

The 27-year-old won the Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2006 in his time at Anfield.

Riise, noted for his fierce shot and also effective in midfield, was a regular under former manager Gerard Houllier and in the early years of current boss Rafael Benitez’s reign.

He established a reputation for spectacular goals, including one after just 45 seconds of the 2005 Carling Cup final against Chelsea and one in the following year’s FA Cup semi-finals, the Blues again the opponents.

However, his 2006-07 campaign was overshadowed by an incident involving former team-mate Craig Bellamy at a training campaign in Portugal, for which the Welshman was disciplined.

He endured an indifferent 2007-08 campaign, the nadir being when he scored an own goal in the final minute of his side’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Chelsea.