EMD: Eto’o gives his OK, Zlatan’s agent in Barcelona
Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo are reporting that a deal is agreed to take Zlatan Ibrahimovic to FC Barcelona, in which Samuel Eto’o and Aleksandr Hleb will go the other way.
It was previously reported that there were complications on the part of Eto’o, who was asking for Barça to pay him to move to Inter, but the talk is now that Eto’o has given the OK for the transfer, which opens up the move from Zlatan to FC Barcelona.
The meeting between Eto’o's agent José María Mesalles and Inter lasted 3 hours and although nothing has been stated officially, it is believed that the deal will soon be announced.
Meanwhile, according to Catalan radio station Rac1, Mino Raiola, the representative of Zlatan, is in Barcelona in order to agree terms between his client and the Catalan club.
During the complications involving Eto’o, Barça had reiterated that it would not remove Eto’o from the deal, and instead pay €75mil plus Hleb for Zlatan, as had been speculated by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
However it is being reported that Eto’o is making one last demand before the deal is sealed: the Cameroon striker wants an explanation from FC Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola over his comments regarding Samuel Eto’o in a recent press conference. Guardiola stated that he just has “a feeling” Eto’o's departure is the right thing, something Eto’o had not expected given the crucial role he has played for the Barça over his time there, including a goal in each of the club’s Champions League finals.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I believe that eto’o right, he has been playing for 5 years for this team and pep did not have/need to say that. may be they have had few issues, but he has also had issues with other players> eto’o also scored many of the most important goals at the beginning of the season to create a distance between barca and its followers. PLEASE PEP YOU MAY BE A GOOD TACTICIAN BUT YOU ARE YET TO BECOME A GREAT COACH!!!!!!!!
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I have never posted a comment on a website but the comment Johnny made has compelled me to do now… Johnny, you are one of the most sensible soccer fan I have seen in a long time… Any player that has played in a team for 5 years, it is inevitable that he must have had his ups and down, if the player has been devoted for that long, it is only right that whatever problem the organization have with him should be dealt with internally, Pep coming out to say to the world why he demanded Eto’o exit without consulting Eto’o first and hoping he isn’t upset is shameful… All supposedly cule or person who haven’t think about this objectively should ask themselves this question: have you ever worked in an organization for 5 years without someone been upset with you??? If everyone will agree with what Pep said because our objectivity has been blinded by the treble then I suppose the treble isn’t a good thing to begin with… Eto’o was supposed to leave last summer and if he did not because he felt he could give something to the organization, it is only befitting after everything Barcelona achieved last season to show some respect and Laporta and Pep himself have been disappointing in how they have handled this…
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 pm
johny and tim your right very shamefull with what pep said in publically i think etoo EARNED his respect with every cule fan in the world and im one of them he scored many goals and gave me many moments of joy as a barcelona fan.I have never screamed a goal like the one he scored against man u in the final.I hope him the best i thought at the beggining of this drama he was being a little bitch but i regret saying that.. i see why he made his transfer or his exit so difficult simple>>>NOBODY GAME HIM RESPECT ..especifically coach pep and laporta.I wish him great luck on inter and 4 me he will always be barca. VISCA BARCA!!!
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
messi10as youre post is definitli corect 1000000% .eto is not respected from anywone and he is angry for that because he love barca better than himselv and etos help is very big for barca and we know that. this is shame!!! .RESPECT FOR ETO O people,you know that where he playng before majorca and what is sayng about real!!!
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:31 am
i want to thank my follow fans that have contributed concerning eto’o exit to inter,honestly am not happy for laporta being a lawyer behaving as if he does n’t qualify to be a lawyer,as for u pep guardiola am very very disappionted in u,if n’t for eto’o contributions with rest of them ,we u be counting among some of the other best coaches,upon how so submissively and amature even unprofessional u did against chelsea in the champions league semi final by shaking a farewell hand to coach guss hindik has disqualify u to be a barca coach,and upon that u have odasity to water a word to someone that made u to be in your top level coach now . shame to guardiola,am n’t happy for u at all.
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 am
eto’o u can tell is old school in the way he plays football ,always helping players up and never bragging about how many goals he has scored,its less about getting his name on football shirts, and more about the game the man really will be missed… not the way he scores goals but more the way he represents the way i see barca as a fan.I’m sorry to see you go samuel
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 am
“Guardiola stated that Eto’o’s “character” was the reason for his departure, something Eto’o had not expected given the crucial role he has played for the Barça over his tim”
This is NOT TRUE! Read the real quote you fools. He said it WASN’t because of character
July 23rd, 2009 at 5:40 am
At the end of the day Pep won the treble after selling ronaldinho and deco which schocked the world….. etoo has been a LEGEND for Barça, but us cules do not know what is really going on behind the scences and in the locker room so it is hard to know for sure what etoo is really like… but from here i saw him miss more gols this season then ever and be less involved in build up then ever, so as much as i love etoo and hate things turned out sour i beleive it is his time to move on. I think he and everyone knows his time is over, and that is why he would not renew his contract. i Support Fc Barcelona not anyone player or coach.. visca Barça Tricampions
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:22 am
My heart becomes heavy and my eyez are wet wenever i read or c on de cover page,de swap b/w both club which eto’o happens 2 be a scape goat…pep is de master planner while laporta is de executioner,dey shuldnot be blinded by de spirit of de triple…eto’o was de key 2 dat triple…samuel no matter where u go,u remain my best striker.
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 am
Thanks kieran. I thought it didn’t seem like the best translation but it was late and i couldn’t find the original press conference to use. It’s updated now. Sorry for the mistake.
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 am
let’s just close this issue asap, although i don’t want Eto’o to go, but Barca is bigger than Eto’o, this should end up unconditionly for a new start;
Pep is a student of Coach, he should learn a lot from E9 transfer, maybe it will bring better things to Barca!
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
pls all barca fans ,let us be realistic,barca is bigger than eto himself but demanding that he wants to be the highest paid footballer in the world does not make him proffessional,however laporta tried calling him several times and he ignores the call meaning he himself wanted to go,that is why guardiola made the statement,so we should allow eto to go and wish him luck elsewhere
July 27th, 2009 at 11:47 am
This attitude shows that Laporta and Pep hate Eto’o. The reason for this hatred is what remains a mystery, and only them can tell. For a player that has done so much for his team incluuding scoring in important matches to be chased out is a example of how to treat people by teams from Spain. Players especially Africans wishing to play in Spain should have re-think and know that money is not everything. Eto’o has scored in two champions league finals played by the team, and remains one of the highest goal scorers ever to play In Europe yet he was chased out like a fish out of water. Iis it because he is a Black? It is too bad. He had everything, scored the highest number of goals for the team, won trebble, better than even Ibrahimovic, yet yoyu decided to disgrace him. Pep and Laporta pray you don’t lose and too bad for Spaniish teams. Shame!!!