Re: Samuel Eto'o [merged]
Manchester City have been given a painful reminder that their huge financial riches may still not be enough to lure all their ambitious targets after Samuel Eto'o's representatives informed the club today he had chosen not to accept their offer to become the best-paid player in the Premier League.
Eto'o wants to stay at Barcelona even though the European Cup winners have made it clear they were happy to accept what their president, Joan Laporta, described over the weekend as a "stratospheric" and "monster" £25.5m bid from City. It has become clear to Eto'o that Barcelona are looking to move him on but the Cameroon striker has misgivings about joining a club who are not even involved in the Europa League and he is willing to resist the offer of a post-tax salary of £180,000 a week.
His agent, José MarÃa Mesalles, will explain his motives at a press conference at the AC Diplomatic hotel in Barcelona tomorrow, uppermost among them being that Eto'o wants to continue playing at the highest level rather than at a club who are still in an early phase of a money-driven attempt to become, ultimately, potential Champions League winners.
Eto'o, who scored in Barcelona's victory over Manchester United in last season's final, has decided he can wait until his contract expires next summer and he can leave on a free transfer. "If there is not a 180-degree turnaround, then he will stay with Barcelona," Mesalles confirmed.
That represents a significant setback to City's manager, Mark Hughes, who had been planning for Eto'o to be the showpiece signing of a £100m summer recruitment programme in which the club have already signed Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry for a combined £30m as well as putting in place a £25.5m deal for Carlos Tevez, whose two-year loan agreement at Manchester United expires tomorrow, and targeting the Everton defender Joleon Lescott for a potential £15m-20m.
It will also be a reminder for City that there is still some way to go before the immense wealth of their Abu Dhabi-based owners brings the club to a point where they represent an attractive proposition for the best players. City have, after all, been here before when Kaka changed his mind about signing with them.
Robinho has shown that City can attract established superstars but inquiries for David Villa at Valencia and Franck Ribéry at Bayern Munich were soon rebuffed. In the case of Eto'o, City are entitled to feel particularly let down as his advisers had strongly led them to believe that the 28-year-old was happy with the financial terms on offer and excited about playing in England. The club had hoped the transfer would persuade more elite footballers that Eastlands was not beneath them. On that front, Eto'o's decision constitutes a damaging blow.