Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Samuel Eto'o on a free transfer.
The 32-year-old Cameroon forward is understood to have signed a stunning £7million one-year deal, although he had to take a huge pay cut from the £17m a year which made him the world's best paid footballer at Anzhi Makhachkala.
Eto'o is apparently 'plan b' after Manchester United rejected two Chelsea bids for Wayne Rooney, with Mourinho opting against lodging a third, having said he had back-up...
options.
Parading: Eto'o has signed for Chelsea
Pen to paper: Eto'o signs the contract in the presence of Chelsea club secretary and director David Barnard
Pleased to be here: Eto'o has signed on a free transfer
The former Barcelona striker did not travel to Prague for Friday night's European Super Cup clash with Bayern Munich - neither did Willian, whose move from Anzhi was confirmed on Wednesday - but is eager to get into the action.
Eto'o, who will be reunited with Mourinho after the pair worked together at Inter Milan, said: 'I am very happy to be here but also anxious because I want to get playing as soon as possible.
'It wasn't a hard decision. I saw the qualities Chelsea have, and I was very happy with Jose Mourinho before, so when the opportunity came, I was very happy to take it.
'I have had a career where I have been lucky enough to win a lot of trophies in different countries, but one of my last dreams as a professional is to come and play in England and see if I can have the same success as in my previous clubs.
'I don't see it as a final challenge, but to have a good time, enjoy my football, and have success with this team.'
Arrival: Eto'o arrived at St Pancras on Wednesday night ahead of putting pen to paper for Chelsea
Seal the deal: Eto'o shakes hands with Pini Zahavi (left picture) and strides towards his car (right)
Whisked away: Eto'o, who is taking a huge pay cut to join Chelsea, leaves St Pancras on Wednesday night
Solution? Samuel Eto'o has sealed his move to Chelsea as Jose Mourinho ends his striker search
Eto'o, who will have to wait until after the international break to make his debut, with Everton away on September 14 the first opportunity, revealed he might have been a Chelsea player sooner.
But he opted to stay at Barcelona before moving to Inter as part of the deal which saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic move in the opposite direction.
'I've had a couple of opportunities to come to England before, including the first time Jose was here, but it didn't work out for one reason or another,' Eto'o added.
The move might never have happened if Mourinho had received the indication from Rooney that he wanted to join Chelsea.
Target: Mourinho didn't select any strikers at Old Trafford and the chase for Wayne Rooney seems to be over
Speaking prior to confirmation of Eto'o's arrival, Mourinho appeared to have conceded defeat in the bid to capture England striker Rooney, who played for United against Chelsea on Monday and afterwards praised the 'fantastic' reception he received at Old Trafford.
Mourinho said: 'I told you what I have to say. I think I (made it) very, very clear that we didn't start the process (a third bid).
'We have nothing more to say. He's a Man United player and no more than that.'
Capturing Eto'o, who commanded wages reported to be in the region of £300,000 a week in Russia, is at odds with Chelsea's recent transfer policy of signing younger players. It also leaves a question mark over the futures of Demba Ba and Fernando Torres as Mourinho has made it clear four strikers is too many and that Romelu Lukaku is key for Chelsea's future.
Ba's place in the squad seems most at risk, but Torres has still to repay the £50million fee paid to Liverpool, as Mourinho admitted earlier this week.
Reunion: Eto'o and Mourinho won the treble at Inter Milan in 2010
Eto'o became Chelsea's fifth signing of the summer transfer window, following Andre Schurrle, Marco van Ginkel, Mark Schwarzer and Willian, who can be expected to provide the ammunition for the striker to score.
'I think Willian he is one of the best players in modern football,' Eto'o said.
The 32-year-old Eto'o began his career with Real Madrid before, following a spell with Real Mallorca, surging to prominence with Barcelona, scoring 152 goals in 232 appearances for the Catalan club.
He has a controversial history with Chelsea.
Following a bad-tempered Champions League encounter at Stamford Bridge, the striker criticised Mourinho, referee Pierluigi Collina and made a claim in the Spanish media that he was called a monkey by a Chelsea security guard. The allegations were swiftly denied by Chelsea.
All smiles: Brazilian playmaker Willian revealed his delight at completing his move to Stamford Bridge
It can be assumed Eto'o's relationship with Mourinho did not suffer as at Inter the pair combined to devastating effect and together won the 2010 Champions League title in a treble-winning campaign.
Eto'o, who also played at Stamford Bridge with Inter, added: 'They were always games between two big clubs. They didn't always finish well, but the most important thing is they were spectacular games every time.'
The striker netted 53 goals in 102 appearances for Inter before joining Anzhi in August 2011.
SAMUEL ETO'O FACTFILE
1981: Born Samuel Eto'o Fils on March 10 in Douala, Cameroon.
1997: Makes his international debut for Cameroon in a 5-0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. Signs contract with Real Madrid, but is loaned out to Leganes.
1998: June - Included in Cameroon's World Cup squad aged 17 years and three months. Becomes the youngest player to feature at France 98, during a 3-0 group-stage loss to Italy.
July - Loaned by Madrid to Real Mallorca.
2000: February - Wins African Nations Cup as Cameroon beat Nigeria in a penalty shoot-out.
July - Makes move to Mallorca permanent.
September - Scores from open play and adds a penalty in the shoot-out of the 2000 Olympic
Games final as Cameroon beat Spain to take the gold medal.
2002: Helps Cameroon lift the African Nations Cup for a fourth time after penalty shoot-out win against Senegal.
2003: May - Scores two late goals in the Copa del Rey final to help Mallorca beat Recreativo de Huelva.
2004: July - Signs for Barcelona for around £21million.
2005: May - Scores 25 goals in 37 league appearances to help Barcelona win Primera Division.
December - Finishes third in FIFA World Player of the Year voting.
2006: May - Collects another Primera Division title and finishes as league's top scorer with 26 goals. Scores equaliser as Barcelona come from goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 in Champions League final in Paris.
2007: February - Refuses to come on as substitute for Barcelona in a league match against Racing Santander.
October - Receives Spanish citizenship.
2009: May - Helps Barcelona achieve league, cup and Champions League treble. Scores 30 league goals and nets as Barcelona defeat Manchester United 2-0 in Rome to land their European title.
July 27 - Signs five-year deal with Inter Milan, as part of exchange move involving Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
2010: March 17 - Scores as Inter win 1-0 at Chelsea to complete aggregate 3-1 success in Champions League second round.
May - Helps Inter win the Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia - for Eto'o a second successive treble-winning season.
2011: May - Ends the season with 37 goals for Inter, but the club miss out on Champions League and Serie A silverware. Inter retain Coppa Italia as Eto'o scores twice in 3-1 win over Palermo in the final.
August - Joins big-spending Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, reputedly on a world-record salary for a footballer worth an annual £17million after tax.
2013: August 29 - After Anzhi rein in their spending, Eto'o is allowed to join Chelsea on a one-year contract.
Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2405759/Samuel-Etoo-signs-Chelsea.html
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