Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o is leaving Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala and joining Chelsea. Eto’o follows in the footsteps of fellow Anzhi player Willian who on Wednesday signed a £32m deal with the club.
Chelsea originally made two bids for Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney but ultimately ditched that effort in favor of the 32-year-old Eto’o. The team is believed to have worked quickly as Samuel was eying a return to Inter Milan.
On the Chelsea club website, Eto’o writes:
“I am very happy to be here but also anxious because I want to get playing as soon as possible. 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.”
Eto’o brings with him the Four-time African Footballer of the Year distinction. Eto’o helped lead Jose Mourinho’s Champions League-winning Inter side in 2010. Now the two men are reunited for another run at a championship.
Eto’o and Mourinho split when he moved over to Anzhi the following year and became the highest-paid player in the world. Anzhi, in the meantime, has fallen on hard financial times and owner Suleyman Kerimov has been working frantically to cut the team’s salary base.
Eto’o has played in the league since joining Cameroon before his 15th birthday. Eto’o played on the 1998 World Cup in France when he was only 17 years old. In 2002, Eto’o scored the game winning goal to help Cameroon record its only victory of the 2002 World Cup.
According to sources, it was Mourinho who diligently worked to secure Eto’o from Anzhi Makhachkala.
Do you think Samuel Eto’o will make for a good edition to the Chelsea club?
