Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o has finally
secured his reunion with Jose Mourinho after
signing for Chelsea.
The 32-year-old is the second player to arrive
at Chelsea from Russian club Anzhi
Makhachkala following the acquisition of
Willian on Wednesday.
Having failed in two bids for Manchester
United’s Wayne Rooney, Chelsea were
desperate to bolster their attacking options and
moved quickly amid reports that Eto’o was
considering a return to Inter Milan.
“I am very happy to be here but also anxious
because I want to get playing as soon as
possible,” Eto’o told Chelsea club website.
“It wasn’t a hard decision. I saw the qualities
Chelsea have, and I was very happy with Jose
Mourinho before, so when the opportunity
came, I was very happy to take it.”
Four-time African Footballer of the Year Eto’o
was an integral part of Mourinho’s Champions
League-winning Inter side in 2010, before
heading to Anzhi the following year to become
the highest-paid player in the world.
Anzhi are in the process of slashing their wage
bill with owner Suleyman Kerimov desperate to
balance the books of the financially-troubled
club.
On the international stage, Eto’o has been a
regular for Cameroon after making his debut
before he turned 15. At the age of 17 he was
the youngest player at the 1998 World Cup in
France.
Four years later he scored the winning goal as
Cameroon bagged their only victory of the 2002
World Cup by beating Saudi Arabia.
Mourinho moved to bring in Eto’o after
appearing to have conceded defeat in the bid to
capture Rooney from United.
Rooney played for United against Chelsea on
Monday night and Mourinho is not planning a
third bid after seeing two offers rejected earlier
in the transfer window.
“Rooney,” said Mourinho at a press conference
on Thursday. “I told you what I have to say. I
think I (made it) very, very clear that we didn’t
start the process (a third bid).
“We have nothing more to say. He’s a Man
United player and no more than that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment