The Fans Football Blog3

Asked about the future of Barcelona forward and Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o (27), the player's agent Josep María Mesalles has said in an interview with Catalan radio station Ona FM and Spanish radio station Cadena Ser that the player wants to continue at Barcelona next season:

"What Samuel wanted to say in that interview is very easy: my future is certain until my contract expires. So he's sure about the near future. Maybe in the end he will want to continue at Barça, but the club won't. We will see what will happen later. You cannot be sure about the future.

We all know Samuel by now. He could have been sneakier and say that this wasn't the moment to talk about that but he never avoids a question. About not wanting to pose with the shirt, he had just finished training and he had taken a shower, so he didn't want to put it on again. On the other hand, it's true that he has always said that he would like to end his career at Mallorca, the club who has a special place in his heart.

Samuel wants to stay with Barça because he's very happy to live in the city of Barcelona and to be a part of a club like Barça. Last year, sadly, the club said that Eto'o had to leave but in the end he stayed. I told him that we had a contract with Barcelona and Samuel stayed and has already scored 23 goals.

The renewal negotiations with the club didn't start yet, so we didn't ask for more money. Until now, Barça didn't approach us, nor did we approach them. It's not in our interest to make the first step, we have a contract and we plan to respect that. There are no negotiations ongoing, but the relations with the club are very good.

I also want to make clear that we didn't have contacts with Real Madrid. What happened is that Eto'o coincidentally met Real Madrid's president at the Euro last summer and there was some joking around. There haven't been any serious negotiations and I never sat around the table to talk with Madrid. We are feeling good at Barcelona and we like to stay at Barcelona."

In an interview with Catalan sports paper Sport, Mesalles also spoke about the future of Eto'o: "The fact that the player wouldn't renew now doesn't mean that he won't continue. He has a contract until 2010 and he has always said that he wants to fulfill it. So there's still a lot of time to think about his future.

I didn't yet receive an offer from the club but if they call me, I will be glad to listen to what they have to say. I don't understand that some assure that he'll leave the club. On the contrary, the player is very happy at Barcelona. You can only have scored 23 goals at this stage of the season if you are playing at a club where you feel happy."

Read more:
Eto'o: "I already made a decision on my future"
Eto'o wants to negotiate renewal in the summer
Eto'o: "I can still go higher"