Samuel Eto'o says he snubbed Arsenal in 2000

Samuel Eto’o

Chelsea forward Samuel Eto’o has revealed that he snubbed a chance to move to Arsenal in 2000 and also said that he has no regrets about the decision.

“I was about to sign that very afternoon at Arsenal and maybe I would have never been the player I am today,” said Eto’o to The Sun.

Eto’o moved to Mallorca instead and joined hands with Luis Aragones, which marked an end to a disappointing spell at Real Madrid.

“I met Luis at a crucial moment in my life where I had to take the right direction – and thanks to him I did. Luis picked me, and then I ended up joining Barcelona. That decision changed everything,” he added.

Eto’o initially joined Mallorca on loan but the move was later made permanent in the summer of 2000 for a fee of £4.4million.

Eto’o then moved to Barcelona after enjoying Copa del Rey success with Mallorca. The Cameroon international spent the next two seasons at Barcelona and tasted Champions League victory, a feat which he repeated at his next club Inter Milan.

The four-time African Player of the Year is all set to make his Chelsea debut against Everton after completing a move from Anzhi Makhachkala. He also said that he is happy to team up with Jose Mourinho again.

“After all that’s happened in Russia over the last couple of months, I had a few proposals from European clubs – but none of them had Jose Mourinho. It was an opportunity for me to team up with him again, and have the opportunity to continue working with him like I did at Inter Milan. And that is the reason I am here,” he said.