In January 2011, Suleyman Kerimov bought the football team Anzhi Makhachkala with the goal of investing big money in the team from the Russian republic of Dagestan and turn it into a great team. Very few football fans can honestly say that they had any knowledge of the team that was established in 1991 and never won any domestic or international titles. The idea was that all this would change when billionaire Suleyman Kerimov made signings such as Roberto Carlos, Yuri Zhirkov, Willian, Lassana Diarra and especially Samuel Eto’o from Inter possible. The latter left Inter on august 23 2011 and cost the club around 28 million. The price of the player, however, was not the most remarkable thing about the deal, it was the salary of 20 million per season after taxes that he was offered. This made the best player in Africa the world’s highest paid player.
Samuel Eto’o has not done bad at Anzhi Makhachkala. The team captain has scored 26 goals in 49 matches and compared with the statistics from the time at Inter (53 goals in 102 matches), he still knows how to score. The team’s results, however, have not met expectations with a fifth place 2011/12 and a third place 2012/13 which weren’t sufficient to qualify for the Champions League. In last year’s Europa League the team advanced to the round of 16 where Newcastle proved too strong.
Nearly a week ago came the news that Kerimov lowered Anzhi Makhachkala’s budget drastically with the result that player sales were to be expected. One of those who may be about to leave the capital of Dagestan may be Samuel Eto’o and many European clubs have been mentioned as possible destinations, including Inter.
What would a signing of Eto’o mean for Inter? Inter are currently in the construction phase where the plan is that the young players will get more confidence and more time. Samuel Eto’o is now 32 years old and would no doubt be a starting player and thus limit the playing time of players like Belfodil and Icardi. I am of the opinion that neither Belfodil or Icardi’s development would benefit from falling even further down the pecking order.
Would Samuel Eto’o want to come to Inter? Hard to say. There is no doubt, that he loves the club and perhaps he would be willing to lower his salary to return. The question is how much he would want to lower his salary. Would he halve or even agree to play for a quarter of what he earns today, he would be too expensive for Inter. Additionally, Anzhi Makhachkala would probably like to get some form of payment for a transfer. I can’t see any of that happening. An Inter with Samuel Eto’o would certainly be a team which to a greater extent could challenge for titles, but as Inter will only participate in Serie A and Coppa Italia, I am not sure if Samuel Eto’o at age 32 is ready to come to a club that are working long term. I can’t see that he wouldn’t be more tempted by a reunion with José Mourinho at Chelsea, which already are better equipped to compete for European titles.
Obviously, I would rejoice if an Inter legend and hero Samuel Eto’o came back to the club and I can’t deny that I too began dreaming when the rumors started. However, I have come to the conclusion that the deal probably will not happen and ultimately it’s perhaps the best for Inter to let go of the heroes from 2010.
