this post was published exactly one year ago:
Barcelona forward and Cameroonian international Samuel Eto'o (27) was yesterday in Uzbekistan, an Asian country who shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.Due to some unclear messages on the official website of Uzbek club Kuruvchi and statements made by Kuruvchi officials, there was since Monday a wave of speculation about an offer the Uzbek club would make to Barcelona and a record contract proposal for Eto'o. Some even claimed that Eto'o came to sign his contract and be presented.
The principal reason for Eto'o to travel to Uzbekistan was to give a master-class to some youth players of Kuruvchi. Josep Maria Mesalles, the agent of Eto'o, already made that clear before the trip in an interview with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo:
"I can't say anything about a transfer, I can only confirm that Samuel will give a master-class at this club. I won't say anything to the club's officials for having leaked some information about a possible transfer. If I would do that, I would show the whole world that they were lying. And I don't think that's a wise thing."
Eto'o nevertheless confirmed yesterday at a press conference in Uzbekistan that he had received an offer from Kuruvchi and that he would take it into consideration when deciding on his future:
"Kuruvchi is interested and that's one of the reasons why I'm here, to know more about the people of the club and about this wonderful country. I have received a formal offer and I will think about it. At this moment I have several good offers from interesting clubs and I will choose what's best for me. When I have made my decision, I will inform Kuruvchi first about it."
French sports paper L'Equipe, who seemed to have good inside information all week long, claims that Eto'o has rejected a dazzling 50 million euro° offer (40 million euro salary and 10 million euro signing bonus) to play for one season with the leader of the Uzbek competition.
Read more 18 July 2008 news:
Robinho agent admits contact with Barcelona
Henrique will be loaned out to Leverkusen
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2 comments:
pep said...
50 million euro =
78 million us dollar
40 million british pound
Anonymous said...
50 million Euro for one season? If Eto'o does not take this deal he is not a very smart man. Sure, he would be playing for a team nobody has heard of, but he is not so old that he only has one season left in him. I'm sure teams will still be interested in Eto'o after this upcoming season...why not make 50 million Euro in the meantime?
Anonymous said...
Did the artist have a photo of Eto'o while drawing that picture? It doesn't looks anything like him. The previous ones of Alves, Ronaldinho and Laporta were all good, but this...Wow
cojonudo said...
I find it interesting that no mention was made of how much Kuruvchi would propose to pay Barcelona for Eto'o's transfer. So far we've only heard rumors surrounding Eto'o's personal contract terms.
I'm sure deep down Barcelona would be thrilled to see this transfer go through (provided they receive a suitable offer) so they could see Eto'o virtually disappear off the map and their consciousness.
The thing I probably find most amussing is how people are starting to bash Eto'o for even entertaining such an offer. And I'm aware that this report/rumor is far from credible. But can you blame him for opting for such a huge amount of money?
Here's a rule of thumb to follow: Whenever you hear an athelete say "It wasn't about the money." What he's REALLY saying is "YES, it was ALL about the money you fools!"
pep said...
The rumoured offer to Barcelona is 40 million us dollar (guess we're talking about oil or gaz dollars here---not that it matters).
(25 million euro)
cojonudo said...
There's no way an editor for an American newspaper would have allowed that cartoon to make the press, let alone see the light of day. If that somehow slipped through, I can assure you the cartoonist would have been fired on the spot and the editor would have been put on unpaid administrative leave.
I'm not a black man but even I find that cartoon offensive. I can only imagine how it would make a person of color feel. The caricature completely takes away the "humor" from what is said in the caption. Very tasteless if you ask me.
vj said...
@ cojonudo
Though the cartoon itself is quite offensive I think it still would have seen the 'light of day' in the US.. If you can depict Obama as Osama.. this cartoon can still feel humorous
djoef said...
If you ask africans in Europe, I'm sure no one would feel offended, it's just a US thing caused by history.
It's a Spanish cartoon so Txiki gets a huge nose, Eto'o gets huge lips, Ronne gets huge teeth, nothing to worry about or feel offended for.
On Eto'o: what an actor... "i will inform Kuruthing first when I made my decision" :-)))))))))))))
Kxevin said...
If we and he don't take it, we're all crazy. As I said elsewhere, he plays there for a year, makes a TON of money, and gets to sign a contract with no transfer fee. That way next season, he comes back to Europe a "free" man.
It's a brilliant PR move for the league/team, makes fiscal sense, and Eto'o only "loses" a season, but one built making sure he won't have to do TV commercials in Cameroon, long after he retires.
Oh, and as a black man, that cartoon is fine. The American press has featured similar depictions of politicians and celebrities here. Some editorial cartoonists exagerrate Obama's features, others don't. It all depends on the person's style. But that Eto'o depiction is in keeping with the style of that cartoonist (previously featured by Pep).
lekan said...
he should go for his personal self.
Anonymous said...
this is bizarre! if those figures are right we should get more than 25 mil for etoo, take 10 mil from his wages he wont notice! if he does go i think someone should set up a blog to follow his progress, any odds on 100+ goals?!
NOUBARCA SAID....
WOW i agree wiv "kxevi" on this as usual, I would go for 50M euro, thats almost £750K/week. I wouls spend a season. Wait for offers from europe and if theres none, i woul face the states cos he would be 28years old (34years, as an african) by then.
So if Barca wants to sell him at all cost, he should make the "God sent move" LOL!!!!
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