Inter and Eto'o reach agreement

Bookmark and Share
The agent of Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o, Jose Maria Mesalles, says a deal has finally been struck between his client and Inter.

The deal hit a snag yesterday when it emerged Barcelona President Joan Laporta was unwilling to pay Eto'o a £4.3m golden handshake.

Eto'o had a year left on his contract and was happy to see it out so he felt Barcelona should reimburse him as they were forcing the sale.

"It's done. An agreement between Inter and ourselves has been reached. Yesterday Samuel spoke with Mourinho and he is very happy," Mesalles said outside the offices of Inter Vice-President Rinaldo Ghelfi.

"The only problem is with Barcelona. The player may arrive on Monday or Tuesday to work with Inter. It's not official, but the agreement with Inter has been made. It's a five year deal," Mesalles concluded.

The news paves the way for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to move to Barcelona, although his agent says a deal will not be done today.

It is as yet unclear whether Eto'o will form part of that deal or be signed independently of it.

Speculation suggests the reason why an announcement has been delayed until Monday is to allow Barcelona and Inter more time to agree terms for Ibrahimovic.

The future of Barcelona midfielder Aliaksandr Hleb is also uncertain.

The former Arsenal playmaker could join Inter together with Eto'o albeit on loan until the end of the season.

He denied knowing about the deal in a statement made yesterday.

{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }