Adrian Mutu has always lived a wild life.
Now the striker wants to take the next step in that journey and adopt ‘Baby 59’, who was rescued yesterday after being wedged in a sewage pipe in China.
The newborn boy, who is 5 pounds and known simply as ‘Baby 59’, was found in a pipe beneath a shared bathroom in Jinhua, China. The baby’s story quickly spread as emergency responders used pliers and saws to open up the 10cm diameter pipe. Amazingly, the baby is in stable condition after suffering a decreased heart rate, cuts and bruising.
And today, a new hero potentially has emerged in Baby 59’s life: Adrian Mutu. The Romanian international and current AC Ajaccio striker told Romanian channel ProTV: “I intend to adopt this baby.”
Mutu continued:
“I couldn’t figure out how to carry on living, how to eat my breakfast when I saw this story on TV. He’s a special child. When I saw the baby I said ‘I must adopt him, he has been sent to me by God.’
“Just look at this poor little fellow. He made such a strong impression on me. I told my wife we have to help him, we have to do everything we can.
“I never thought I would adopt a baby, I had no plan concerning that, but I just know: I have to help this one.”
Mutu, a father of three, claims he’s discussed the plan with his wife, Consuelo, and she’s on board. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to strike a legal agreement as Romania is not currently on the list of 17 countries whose citizens can adopt from China.
Mutu may also encounter some resistance from Chinese authorities due to his somewhat checkered past.
In 2004 the striker, who Chelsea had signed just one year prior for £15.8m, was fired after testing positive for cocaine. After serving a seven-month ban Mutu rebuilt his career in Italy before failing another drug test in 2010, this time testing positive for sibutramina, a stimulant that counters hunger.
With a little bit of Googling, one can easily find plenty of other Mutu-related stories guaranteed to entertain. And while none of them suggest poor parenting skills per se, we’re going to venture a guess that you won’t be seeing Mutu as Baby Daddy 59 anytime soon.
