Manchester City have officially ended their pursuit of Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o.

The club confirmed they had given up hope of signing the Cameroon international on their website.

Chief executive Garry Cook said: “Samuel Eto’o is undoubtedly a fine footballer but the circumstances surrounding him were such that the deal could not be completed.

“We now feel the time is right to pursue other avenues and we have a clear and strategic transfer plan, which we continue to follow.”

It seemed the striker was bound for Eastlands a fortnight ago, when Barcelona accepted a bid for the star, who scored in last season’s Champions League final triumph against Manchester United.

However, the deal quickly became mired in a contractual dispute between Eto’o and the Catalan outfit.

The player, who is about to embark on the last year of his contract at the Nou Camp, felt he should receive a significant portion of the £18million City were willing to pay as he would be entitled to leave for nothing next summer.

Blues boss Mark Hughes initially signalled his intention to wait for Eto’o to resolve the wrangle.

Yet, as the week has dragged on, the argument just got more confusing and complicated.

It was suggested City were ready to offer Eto’o a deadline of this weekend to determine his future.

In the end, chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak did not even give the 28-year-old that long, with Barcelona officially contacted on Friday with confirmation the deal was off.

While it could be viewed the latest development is merely posturing on City’s part, privately the club are adamant the transfer is now highly unlikely to go ahead.

To an extent, they understand Eto’o’s demands. However, they also feel a contract said to be worth around £200,000 a week was alone enough to keep Eto’o happy and are unwilling to let the situation drag on any longer.

After returning from a pre-season training camp in Germany, City are due to head for South Africa on Wednesday lunchtime for a three-match tour that will begin preparations for a new campaign that opens at Blackburn on August 15.

City have already signed Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn to bolster their forward line this summer, but have loaned out Brazilian Jo to Everton on a season-long loan.

They have also ben linked with moves for the out-of-contract Carlos Tevez and Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi, both of whom are former Manchester United players.

In defence, City have been trying to sign Chelsea captain John Terry, while they have also been linked with Everton’s Joleon Lescott.

Sir Alex Ferguson has got a £100million to spend on transfers after he personally gave the order for Cristiano Ronaldo to be sold to Real Madrid, the departure of Ronaldo will leave a big hole to fill in the United squad, which Sir Alex Ferguson will try to fill with the £80 million coming from by selling Ronaldo and £20 million will be handed over to him as transfer budget from the club.

Ever since the news of Ronaldo leaving the club has arrived the news papers are yelling just one thing out to Sir Alex Ferguson,

Spend, Spend, Spend

accordint to www.manutd.com (the clubs official web site),
United last night prepared to enter a bidding war with Chelsea for France international Franck Ribery which could go as high as £65m. Old Trafford boss Ferguson is also known to have Lyon’s £25m forward Karim Benzema on his hit list and he hopes to conclude the £16m signing of Wigan’s Antonio Valencia in the near future

the web site goes on to mention,
Wigan’s Ecuador winger Valencia has long been a Ferguson target and he will almost certainly join shortly while the United manager has not yet given up on persuading Carlos Tevez to stay on a long-term deal. As well as Benzema, Ferguson’s hit-list includes Barcelona holding player Yaya Toure. It is, however, the prospect of United going head to head with Chelsea for Bayern Munich’s Ribery that looks the most mouthwatering. Bayern have already indicated the 26-year-old is not for sale and it will take an offer of around £65m for the Frenchman to be prised away.

United have been linked with a host of top talents since Ronaldo’s potential departure was announced. The Guardian says Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o could arrive, while wingers David Silva (The Times) and Arjen Robben (Daily Star) are also being monitored.

according to www.footballtransferleague.co.uk,
ManU’s most probable out this summer is none other than Carlos Tevez according to the website Carlos Tevez can leave United for either of the following clubs

• Manchester City
• Liverpool
• Real Madrid
• Chelsea
• Tottenham
• Inter Milan

and the most probable INs are

• Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan)
• Karim Benzema (Lyon)
• Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
• Nicolas Bertolo (Atletico Banfield)
• Jose Rodolfo Pires Ribeiro Dodo (Corinthians)
• Neymar da Silva (Santos)
• Alexis Sanchez (Udinese)
• Walter Henrique da Silva (Internacional)
• Douglas Costa (Gremio)
• Victor Mongil (Real Valladolid)
• Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
• Paul Pogba (Le Havre)
• Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Real Madrid)
• Kyle Naughton (Sheffield Utd)
• Arjen Robben (Real Madrid)
• David Silva (Valencia)
• Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona)

well £100million is a lot of money to burn, Sir Alex has got a huge responsibility on his shoulders to fill in Ronaldo’d boats. United fans will hope that he spend (which he usually does) spend this much of money in the right way to keep his squad tough for the next season.

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