Cursed And Haunted Italian Villa Set To Be Purchased By Soccer Star, Samuel Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o is among the best soccer players in the world, and thanks to his hard work and athletic talents, Eto’o has also earned substantial wealth for his exploits on the soccer pitch. Thus, Eto’o’s pending purchase of the stunning £18.5 million Italian mansion, Villa Altachiara, perched on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean.

Unfortunately, Eto’o’s potential new digs come with some haunted baggage, as the villa is said to be shrouded in the curse of Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, reports the Daily Mail.

Despite the cursed villa’s tragic past, and rumors of being haunted, Samuel Eto’o, who has starred for both the Chelsea and Everton football clubs, has reportedly fallen in love with the place. With his football skills being brought to the Italian team, Sampdoria, Eto’o has to hang his boots somewhere, and cursed or not, Villa Altachiara is a pretty nice place to hang them.

Eto’o will be following in the footsteps of two former residents of the cursed villa who met tragic ends, Egyptologist Lord Carnarvon and Gucci model and heiress, Countess Francesca Agusta.

Lord Carnarvon was key to the discovery of the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, an act that is believed to be the source of the curse and tragedies that followed.

Highclere Castle in England was Carnarvon’s primary residence, but the soon to be cursed Villa Altachiara was where he spent his summers. Ironically, Eto’o is also moving to the cursed villa from England.

Though not a soccer player like Eto’o, Lord Carnarvon liked to race cars, a pastime that left him with a crippled limb and badly damaged lungs after a crash. So, at the suggestion of his doctors, Carnarvon headed to Egypt and its warm climate to help in his recovery. An interest in Egyptology followed, and working with famed English archaeologist, Howard Carter, the two discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb and its extraordinary riches.

A warning engraved on Tutankhamun’s tomb said a curse would be upon whoever disturbed King Tut and his treasure, but Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter didn’t want to listen.

Unfortunately for Carnarvon, the curse soon made itself known via a mosquito bite on his cheek that got infected and sent him to his deathbed in a Cairo hospital shortly thereafter. A canary that helped them find the tomb was also eaten by a cobra, and the Lord’s dog also dropped dead back in England. The curse then fell upon Eto’o’s prospective villa a few months later when Carnavon’s nephew fell down some stairs at Altachiara, resulting in his death.

Fast forward to 2001, and former Gucci model and heiress, the Countess Francesca Agusta, would be found living at Eto’o’s future residence. However, the heiress inexplicably disappeared one afternoon, perhaps boozed and hopped up on pills, saying she was “going for a swim.”

Her body would be found three weeks later, battered beyond recognition and 200 miles away, near the coastal town of Southern France’s Saint-Tropez.

A Telegraph story from the time points to much evidence that the death of the Countess was a murder, her injuries consistent with being beaten, not falling off Villa Altachiara’s 300 foot cliff or drowning. But as for who killed her, or whether the villa’s curse was responsible, remains a mystery.

Regardless its haunted and cursed history, Eto’o doesn’t seem frightened. One anonymous source told the media, “He knows the history, everyone around here knows the history.”

Locals say you can still hear Countess Francesca Vacca Agusta roaming the villa grounds shouting for her husband, but still, Eto’o is reportedly ready to sprinkle some positive change in the villa’s tragic history.

At the same time, Sky Sports reported on February 3 that Samuel Eto’o was ready to quit Sampdoria after his first week with the team. Could this be some dark reflection from the cursed villa?

Maybe or maybe not, but perhaps Samuel Eto’o and the Villa Altachiara will go their separate ways before any future tragedy strikes the soccer star.

[Images via Daniel Berehulak and Martin Rose via Getty Images, and Google Images]