DID INTER MILAN OFFER REAL MADRID SAMUEL ETO´O FOR 25M€? IF TRUE, WHY DID REAL MADRID REJECT THE OFFER?

The rumour is hot in Italy, so hot that it has not gone away even after the players transfer period window shut last Wednesday the 1st of September. Did INTER MILAN really offer SAMUEL ETO´O to REAL MADRID? It’s the talk of the “Calcio”, gossip that has reached Spanish media who are now analyzing if true & if Real Madrid missed a bargain.

The apparent idea according to the rumour was that Inter Milan desired to receive 25M€ for the sale of Eto´o to Real Madrid & in turn invest that acquired money to sign Brazilian Robinho & thus take the player away from arch rival AC Milan. A valid strategy if you consider that now AC Milan has a formidable forward line with Pato, Ibrahimovic & Robinho with the potential to seriously compete with Inter for the “Scudetto” & other titles.

What about Real Madrid? The suspected reasons behind the rejection of Samuel Eto´o are:
• His elevated price – 25M€ - according to Real Madrid
• His age, 29 years old
two reasons which at first sight lack sufficient weight to explain a rejection of this magnitude & quality of player.

Real Madrid Coach José Mourinho wanted a third forward, a true Nº9 that would complement Higuain & Benzema, especially if one of them got injured, in order to remain competitive in all three competitions: La Liga, Spanish Cup & Champions League. The idea was to have a “substitute” forward ready to come on when needed, & here seems to be the REAL problem; that someone like Eto´o would never take comfortably the role of being a substitute. Real Madrid directives may have rejected Samuel Eto´o, however attractive that it could have been, because the player is a dressing room “time-bomb” waiting to explode in such conditions. This, & his past “anti – Real Madrid” comments while at FC Barcelona, may have shut the door as the player may have earned himself some enemies at Madrid who do not forgive.

From a solely Football perspective Eto´o would have been a great asset for Real Madrid. However, the costs in the long run may have been greater than the benefits, look at Ibrahimovic with Barça, “strong personality” players take their past baggage with them – past & future. Tweet

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