Premier League - City make huge Eto'o offer

Eurosport - Mon, 29 Jun 06:51:00 2009

Samuel Eto'o could be on his way to Manchester City after Barcelona president Joan Laporta revealed the Premier League club had made the striker a "stratospheric offer".

FOOTBALL 2008-2009 Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona) PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxITA - 0

Speculation has been rife about where Eto'o will be next season as, with his contract set to expire next summer, Barca were keen to either tie him to a new deal or cash in on the Cameroon striker.

Reports suggest the Catalan giants have accepted a 30 million euro bid from City and Laporta believes the temptation of a mega salary would prove too much for Eto'o.

"Eto'o has a stratospheric offer from City, which would convert him into the best paid player in the world," he told Catalan radio station iCat FM. "It's starting to become clear that he has this monster offer. He wants to stay but an offer like this is very difficult to refuse. If Eto'o accepts this stratospheric offer we will have to bring in someone."

Eto'o contributed 36 goals last season as Barca claimed an unprecedented Primera Division, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble.

Should the 28-year-old leave the Nou Camp, Barca would likely step up their efforts to land Spain and Valencia striker David Villa.

PA Sport

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  1. As a Barca fan I would love Eto to stay. As a player I­­ would say leave for the $$$$. Eto is 28 and has no­­ guarantee his next season performance or injuries­ which­ could devalue him next year. Take the $$$$ and­ run. You­ already won the treble and conquered Spanish­ football.­ Now its time to show your skills in another­ part of the­ globe!!!! So Barca makes money from the­ transfer who­ cares. So will the player!! Its a­ business and you cant­ fall in love with a team. You­ have to move on!! ETO!!!­ A TRUE FORWARD!!! HE WOULD­ DESTROY THE PREMIERSHIP!!!

    From bass_alick, on Tue 30 Jun 7:12PM

  2. NICO K...
    I agree with most of what you're saying,­ but it seems quite a few people have a problem with­ Mark Hughes...why? As a player he was very highly­ regarded on a world level; as a manager he made Wales­ competitive (they even beat Italy, didn't they?),­ and he maintained Blackburn's status in the­ Premiership. To me he gives the impression of being­ well tuned in and committed to his work, is intelligent­ and sensible in interviews, and is a shrewd judge both­ of the game and of players. I think the emergence of­ Stephen Ireland is largely down to his man-management­ skills, and as a lifelong follower of City, I look­ forward to seeing him manage this revolution at City­ and then seeing his team challenging the usual suspects­ both at home and in Europe. And another thing: changing­ the manager every year (and sometimes more often than­ that at City) undermines continuity and confidence. So­ there you go.

    From Schmoegler, on Tue 30 Jun 3:53PM

  3. Barca......pls let ETO stay!...........he's a gem­ even if you don't seem to realize it!

    From marilacson, on Mon 29 Jun 6:03PM

  4. @247. Investing this type of money is not just a means­ to make a quick buck. The owners of Man City know why­ they bought a rival team in the same city as ManU. They­ understand that paying players these astronomical sums­ of cash will turn the heat on the burner under ManU.­ Plus, they hope to be in Champions League football next­ year. The goal this year is to get to the top four­ (probably sending Arsenal or Liverpool out of the top­ four). Next year, Man City could be in Champions League­ Competition. Three more years and Eto'o is 31­ probably the best time to win Champions League for them­ after they would have purchased a couple more players­ say Dani Alves, Toure, Diarra, Lucio, and the young­ Defender from Amsterdam(name escapes memory). Eto'o­ will probably score 25 goals in Prem if he does go to­ Man City. Heck, see how many goals he scored for­ Mallorca even without a midfield that had baldy­ Ireland? Come on now!

    ManCity shouldn't bank too­ much on attack though because I believe they need a­ proper rotation in midfield and defence as these areas­ need marked improvement and of course a world class­ coach to take Hughes' place. He is hardly the type­ of coach to lead a team that has the likes of Kompany,­ Robinho, Ireland, and Eto'o. I am sorry!

    From NICO K, on Mon 29 Jun 4:24PM

  5. I want to apology to all Barca Fans, for calling­ Laporta and Barcelona racist, because they are not.­ They still have black people in their team, like Tour,­ Keita, Abidal, Henry, Eto'o. But the reason that­ Eto'o might leave is because he wants more money,­ not because Barca is racist. So again I'm sorry if­ I offended any Barca Fans.

    From getachew44, on Mon 29 Jun 1:33PM

  6. No, I want Eto'o to stay, he is a joy to watch, he­ is the best striker in the world. But if he stays with­ Barcelona, I'm affraid he will destroy Madrid.­ I'm both a Barca and Madrid fan, maybe a little­ more of Barca fan.

    From getachew44, on Mon 29 Jun 1:30PM

  7. comment 224 no united developed Giggs , scholes,­­ neville, becks... shall i continue....... they won the­­ title with those players
    Giggs (Stolen from City)­ Beckham ( Stolen from Tottenham) You buy Success just­ like every other "top" team... Don`t kid­ yourself United have paid out more "tribunal"­ money than any other top team for poaching promising­ youngsters from the youth set-ups of other teams.

    From steeviedblue, on Mon 29 Jun 12:20PM

  8. eto'o will surely go. He's human and he­ can't turn down an offer of £13 million a year. man­ City are going onto big things and are strong­ contenders for the Premier League this season. This­ will only attact eto'o

    From jasmith1875, on Mon 29 Jun 12:11PM

  9. transfer fee is about right, but not the wages he is­ reported to be offered.
    be interesting with eto'o,­ he wants 1st team football. if he's not in 1st team­ every time (when fit), watch the toys fly out the pram.

    From SIMON, on Mon 29 Jun 11:35AM

  10. Comment 254 was there a ManUre convention at Middle­ Eastlands over the weekend?

    From original_anglo_saxon, on Mon 29 Jun 11:30AM

  11. What do you mean "how long will they keep­ him"..which club is going to try and whelk him­ away?? What are the going to use to entice him­ away?..renaming thier stadium E'to Park..or what.

    From Andy, on Mon 29 Jun 11:03AM

  12. comment 249, are u stupid? etoo is alot beter than­ ronaldo, ronaldo is highly highly over rated, hes fast­ can do step overs and can hit free kicks, and scored a­ header once every couple of months

    From Maggie, on Mon 29 Jun 10:57AM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Apparently the Wastelands Stadium was recently flooded­ with raw sewerage - so business as usual!

    From howard.stringer, on Mon 29 Jun 10:56AM

  14. Thats too much of cash.........But they gonna get a­ world class player..But for how long will they keep­ him!!!!!!!

    From pius, on Mon 29 Jun 10:49AM

  15. All the money in the world does not make a club, only­ need to look at Chelsea since the russian czar took­ over.
    Whatever city fans feel about the influx of­ money, will be many years before they can dent a club­ like MU.

    From , on Mon 29 Jun 10:48AM

  16. Loads of players "should go to United", but­ they don't any more. Rumour has it, that when the­ cheque for CRon comes in the post, Mr Glazer is going­ to use it to prop up some credit facilities he is­ having a few problems with. United might no land­ anyone...of interest.

    From Andy, on Mon 29 Jun 10:47AM

  17. Ive got a Zimbabwe 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar ­ note Im thinking of buying Everton.

    From heldersmelder, on Mon 29 Jun 10:29AM

  18. Right player but wrong club.Yes Eto is world class but­ just remember he is now 28 and that means he will only­ give his best for tops three years maybe four.He should­ go to united if he leaves barcelona.Man United will­ give him champions league football and a new start and­ more trophies.

    But we know Sir Alex will not pay those­ kind of wages which is right.The only two players right­ now worth that money is Ronaldo and Messi.

    From Roland, on Mon 29 Jun 10:16AM

  19. Steve, the owners of city are reported to have a­ consortium worth 650billion of arab oil money 13 mill a­ year they prob make that in an hour in interest so­ therefore like an average team paying someone 1 k a­ week for someone cos United cant afford it dont meen­ none else can do it, it was ok for united to spend 33­ mill on a centre half 8 years ago paying 120k+ a week­ in wages.

    From heldersmelder, on Mon 29 Jun 10:13AM

  20. @246, Woods may well earn over $100m a year and Winfrey­ $260m a year (blimey), but they aren't footballers.­ That is made up of wages, sponsorships etc.. This is­ the club spending £13m a year on one player's­ wages!

    Man Utd couldn't afford to do that, so I­ fail to see how any club can afford it - I can't­ see how Eto is worth £13m a year. Even if they win­ everything, they won't get a return on that sort of­ investment.

    From Steve, on Mon 29 Jun 10:01AM
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