The 26-year-old Romania forward, now at Italian giants Juventus, was sacked by the English Premiership leaders in October after testing positive for cocaine.

That led to a seven-month ban but Chelsea say Mutu had repudiated his contract through persistent misconduct.

The London club have now filed a claim which will be heard by the FA Premier League (FAPL) appeal committee at the end of March.

Chelsea are seeking compensation from Mutu based on his transfer value and sporting sanctions against the player under article 42 of FIFA's Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players.

The FAPL will determine whether Chelsea have a case and hand the matter on to world soccer's governing body FIFA to determine the level of compensation and any possible sanctions.

Chelsea paid Italy's Parma 15.8 million pounds for Mutu in 2003 and hope to recoup at least half of that sum, while the FIFA Resolution Chamber could also extend his seven-month ban.