Bari claim Donati deal

Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati is poised to return to Italy after Bari tonight announced they are on the brink of signing him.

The former AC Milan player joined Celtic in 2007 and scored in last night’s Champions League defeat to Arsenal.

Bari said on their official website that Celtic have accepted their offer, and that the deal will be completed tomorrow, with Donati signing a four-year contract.

Donati struggled to settle down in the Celtic team under previous boss Gordon Strachan but has reclaimed his place recently following the appointment of Tony Mowbray as manager.

However he is now expected to be presented to the Italian media by Bari on Monday.

The 28-year-old was a £3m (€3.4m) recruit by the Hoops two years ago and terms of his return to Serie A with last season’s Serie B champions have not been revealed.

Donati’s final act in a Celtic shirt will arguably go down as his best, after his stunning volley gave Mowbray’s side a consolation goal in their 5-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal in the European play-offs.

He later admitted Celtic were simply not good enough to earn a place in the group stages.

Donati offered no hint that it would be his final game for Celtic and was quick to call for Arsenal striker Eduardo to be banned following the final whistle, for his apparent dive which won a penalty.

UEFA have confirmed they will review the incident, which could lead to a two-match ban for the Croatia international.

While conning the referee has angered Celtic players and fans, midfielder Donati accepts it had no bearing on the result.

“We tried to play the ball around but Arsenal were just too good for us,” said Donati.

“We lost because Arsenal are one of the best in the world, in the last few years they have made the quarters, semis and final of the competition so we knew it would be hard.