Samuel Eto’ohas laughed off the leaked remarks from Chelsea manager José Mourinho questioning his age, joking that if he can manage a hat-trick against Manchester United “at 37” he must have plenty of years left in the tank.
On Wednesday evening, the Blues secured a 1-1 draw in their Champions League last-16 first leg with Galatasaray. The buildup to the match was dominated by comments made in private by the Portuguese concerning his strikers, in particular Eto’o.
Samuel-etooCanal Plus broadcast video of Mourinho telling a businessman at a recent sponsor’s event: “The problem with Chelsea is I lack a striker. Eto’o is 32 years old, maybe 35, who knows?”
Mourinho was apoplectic about the remarks being broadcast and said his relationship with Eto’o had not been affected – something the Cameroon forward agrees with after he made light of the comments.
“I am Samuel Eto’o, what can I say?” he told Sky Sports News after the Galatasaray match. “If at 36 and 37 I can score three goals at Manchester United it means that I still have some juice and I can even score until I am 50.
“But I really don’t care, what is really important to me is to give my maximum to the team, to help them to win some titles.”
Eto’o came on as a 68th-minute substitute in Turkey for Fernando Torres, whose goal early in the clash was the ideal response to Mourinho’s leaked remarks.
AFP