Mallorca president Mateo Alemany has held clear the air talks with Samuel Eto’o in a bid to keep the striker at the Son Moix until the end of the campaign. The Cameroon international was reported to be extremely unhappy at what he saw as a series of broken promises by Alemany following the collapse of a big-money move to Chelsea last summer.
The West Londoners were poised to clinch a €24 million (£16 million) deal for Eto’o in August, but Alemany pulled the plug after seeing five other players leave the club during pre-season.
It is reported he struck a deal with the African striker that he would substantially increase his wages if the player agreed to stay for a further season with The Islanders.
Eto’o agreed to the deal – with a view to resurrecting his move to Chelsea this summer – but publicly slammed the club in October after his improved contract failed to materialise.
The 22-year-old insisted he was ready to quit the Balearic outfit when the transfer window reopened in January, and fired a broadside at the club stating: « It’s not that I’m stupid, more that they tried to be too smart. »
However, Eto’o met with Alemany on Tuesday, accompanied by manager Luis Aragones, and received assurances he would be rewarded with a new deal and thus agreed to remain with Mallorca until the end of the season.
The Primera side have confirmed that there have been no fresh offers for their most prized asset, but it is almost certain that Eto’o will move on once the current campaign is over.
