Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By DAN KARELL
A three time UEFA Champions League winner could be heading to Major League Soccer next summer.
According to a report in the British newspaper, the Guardian, Chelsea forward Samuel Eto’o has decided to come to MLS at the end of his contract this summer. The 32-year-old forward took a pay cut to move to England this past summer but his move to the EPL hasn’t gone off as well as he would have liked.
Eto’o, who is expected to captain Cameroon at the World Cup in Brazil next summer, was subject to transfer speculation last month for a move to Toronto FC. However, this report states that he’s likely to snub the Canadian club in favor of moves to either the LA Galaxy, Chivas USA, or D.C. United. The report adds that the Seattle Sounders and Chicago Fire have expressed interest as well. MLS teams can begin negotiating with Eto’o’s representatives next month with as there will be less than six months left on his current contract.
MLS and Chelsea have yet to publicly comment on this report.
If the Galaxy are indeed interested in acquiring Eto’o next summer, it would mean that one of their current Designated Players, Robbie Keane, Omar Gonzalez, and Landon Donovan, would either have to restructure their contract or be sold. The same would apply to the Sounders, who have three Designated Players on their roster, Clint Dempsey, Osvaldo Alonso, and Obafemi Martins.
Before moving to Chelsea, Eto’o spent two seasons at high-spending Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, which paid him a reported €20 million per season after taxes. Prior to the big-money move to Russia, Eto’o was Mourinho’s star forward at Inter Milan, winning a Serie A title, Champions League, and two Coppa Italias.
Eto’o though really made his name with FC Barcelona in Spain, winning the Champions League twice and La Liga three times. In his final season with the Catalan club, Eto’o scored an amazing 36 goals in all competitions.
This season for Chelsea, Eto’o has scored just twice in nine EPL appearances and just four times in 15 appearances in all competitions.
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