Laporta Suggests Eto'o Could Stay

This is great "news". Sammy is among the five best strikers in the world and way more consistant than many others. Yes, he has a big ego, but I believe we can handle that since two other egos - Deco and Ronnie - already has left us.

News I like to hear. I love if Eto'o can stay at the Blaugrana.
There is no other striker that can replace Eto'o, he's the complete package.
Unlike Ronnie, Eto'o proves he wants to be at Barca.
Visca El Barca.

well u cant sY THat there is no striker that can replace him..i bet theres someone out there but sammy already is understandable by the other barca players which makes it easier for eto but if he does leave the players that can replace him wont come so it is good news about eto stayin in barca

but if he starts givin us problems he should leave by january cause we cant let im affect the others neither

My opinion: If we need the money (which we surely don't, therefore this doesn't really matter), sell him.

If we don't, keep him. Simple. Eto'o is a top class striker. Henry is still one of the best as well. We don't NEED both, but would it be best? Surely.

I love Eto'o's work ethic, but to read one of his interviews is to understand why some refer to the Cameroon as a 'crackpot'. The way I see it, the man is on a mission and nothing is going to get in his way. His viewpoint is just a little too black and white for me. Still, trading Eto'o for Drogba or Adebayor is really not changing much in that department, so I'd rather see the Cameroon stay.

^Exactly. I feel like the likes of Drogba and Adebayor and Eto'o all have similar ego/personality "issues".

I agree with BRETT 1000%. And also at the Moment i don't care about Eto... All i care about is Barca... Any striker will look good once a team is playing good and the midfielders are giving the strikers the ball where they are comfortable at... I do hope Barca peforms the same way they are performing in pre-season, anything less will be a great disapointment. Barca has high expectations from the fans, on the other hand their rivals Real Madrid are not looking that great in preseason... So i can understand the high expectations fromthe Barca suporters

please STAY

this is great news and i really really hope he will stay. people comment on his ego and that but he has never really said anything that bad. if anything, the things that got him most in trouble was calling out roni on his exploits off the field, which i thought was merited. etoo seems egotistical on the pitch sometimes but its just cause he has such a determined and competative spirit. he actually is pretty humble and very religious, something i learned watching him on a spanish tv talk show.

besides that, he is an excellent striker. def in the top 5. and YOUNG. why we want to consider having henry and drogba, two plus 30 yr old strikers makes no football sense. selling etoo makes NO economical sense either. his contract his high but so will any replacement of calibre. plus we would have to pay more than we would get for etoo if we wanted berbatov or villa (prob the two best options now). it seems etoo wants to stay and wants to prove his worth. that admirable and something that should be rewarded by management. i can remember a certain cule hero who decided when things got bad, hed rather party with the ladies than get stuck in at training. etoo shows he cares, which means wonders for me.

and whoever suggested we dont need both strikers (henry and etoo), u are mad. how can u have a club with only one proven goalscorer? and lets be honset, despite henry's pleasant looking stats, he was simply awful last yr, so relying on him is risky. u cant expect bojan to fill in etoos shoes. and messi is loving getting injured lately.

on a side note, i loved the story that united are considering a 20 mill euro bid for henry. wow wow wow wow, i cannot even describe how excited that makes me and how id love it to happen. unfortunately pep seems to want him. but i dont see how we could reject 20 mill for a 31 yr old who seems to want to be go back england for his kid. put that towards berbatov, then we would be GOLDEN, a crazy strong team.

As some of you know, I like Eto'o. And I hope he stays. But to add some balance to this conversation...

In response to "Eto'o may be a difficult character who occasionally causes problems for team unity; however, given the options of Adebayor, Drogba or our very own Thierry Henry for the number 9 position this season I have to say that Eto'o is better than all of them. Pep Guardiola should be talking to the player to find out if he is interested in staying." --I would be reluctant to make such a blanket statement. One of the problems this team had last year is dealing with opponents who packed the box with defenders. When our midfielders (frequently!) couldn't service the strikers well with through balls, Barca died, as we saw. Eto'o has many great qualities and is superior in many respects to the other strikers mentioned above, but there's no question that Adebayor, Drogba (and Klose and Huntelaar to a lesser extent) pose far greater aerial thrats than Eto'o. Having an aerial threat up front can be a key to breaking down a defensive-minded team that refuses to go forward...particularly since we just paid a ton for the world's premier wingback who is adept at crossing into the box!

And maybe I just see things a bit differently, but to me, some of Eto'o outbursts are outrageous and extremely unprofessional to the point of distraction. Remember this? LINK

How can you say "Pep Guardiola should be talking to the player to find out if he is interested in staying"? Eto'o has never said a word about wanting to leave the club! It was Guardiola who said he didn't want him on his new team. Well, we know that was only because his bosses Laporta & Cruyff want him out. And now that pathetic couple are scared because Samuel might join Real Madrid.

Hey Nic,

It is obvious that running around telling people who is or is not part of your plans before all transfers are settled was a mistake. I, on this forum, a few weeks back, stated that Pep's arrogance and lack of "soft skills" might come back to bit him in the b***. Well, now here we go!! It is true that the case remains far from being closed but just imagine if talks for Ronnie and Decco had collapsed...imagine that gossip and atmosphere it would have created in the dressing room and in the media. This was his first major communicational decision with his players, the media and the fans and he blew it. Somewhere, I am sure Eto'o will remember that this guy didn't want him and he will forever remember it...does this mean that in the middle of the season, should he be playing well, we're going to hear him remind the world that he was not wanted? what issues can that create? Is Henry now disappointed that he might not play in the middle, since Gardiola made an implicit promise by running his mouth?
It is amazing how arrogant that move was on Pep's part. Those players combined have done more for Barcelona than he could ever dream of achieving...(ok maybe he was a great player too)...but the fact remains, I am very upset that he is choosing to treat fellow sportsmen with a total lack of respect!!!!

did u guys hear about what happened between messi and marquez in training?? what happened? y did they fight?

"Those players combined have done more for Barcelona than he could ever dream of achieving" - Are you serious? Do you have any idea how long Pep played for Barca and what he achieved with the club?!?!? 6 league titles and a Euopean cup in 11 years playing for Barca, not to mention all the other lesser titles. As far as I am concerned Pep can do whatever he wants with lazy arrogant players who dont give anywhere near their all on the pitch, he has earned it

This is fuckin great news!!!!

@ Hilal

Before you displays as much lack of recall as you have...please reread my post. Here's what I said:"...than he could ever dream of achieving...(ok maybe he was a great player too)...", so step back for a moment here. I acknowledged his contribution before you went around crying like a baby.I am well aware of his contribution to Barcelona and that's is why I gave him his respect. In return, he failed to respect the trio by running his mouth the way he did and "buddy" that is the central point of my argument NOT who won what, when and during which period.

Maybe an ego scorer like eto'o should go but in the same time Pep should consider a chance for eto'o to improve and change his attitude. We can't loose a great striker who has a very good understanding with Barca system and the way Barca play..i think Eto'o deserve to stay and i hope so!

I think Pep did make a mistake by stating that the Ronaldinho deco and Etoo were not part of his plans. That messed up their transfer value. Imagine losing Ronaldinho for so little, that was a shame! Deco was lousy for Barca,so its good we got rid of him.

We shouldnt do the same with Etoo, lets keep him, he might be arrogant and cocky, but boy does he do the job. And those of us who think he wasnt a big match player last season (man u, cl semi finals) have to remember there was an injury the issues with the team and the crowds non support.

We need this guy more then ever, he just needs to bang in a few and thats it.

I think we have a complete team this time around. (execpt the keeper, but i hope Valdes doesnt have the same season as he did last time)

Eto is among the best on the planet.
Don't fool yourselves Barca nation! Henry is not in Eto's class. How many times did he miss the net the other day in pre-season?
Bojan isn't fully ready yet.
Eto, please stay. We adore you, and your well-deserved attitude. You've earned it.

P

@Tai,FCBMaise,kimi10

Thank you!!!

Finally, some intelligent readings on pep's mistake in making that announcement and Eto'o's value!!!

I'll get over it, but did Barca sign Henry to get rid of Eto'o and Ronnie?