Old man’ Eto’o moves on from Jose rift for life with Toffees

Samuel Eto’o has drawn a line under his dispute with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho as he begins the latest chapter of his career with Everton.

The three-time Champions League winner, who was released by Chelsea at the end of last season, this week joined Everton on a two-year contract after being linked with several other clubs.

The 33-year-old’s single campaign at Stamford Bridge was best remembered for unguarded comments made about his age by Mourinho.

The veteran striker later made known his frustration about those remarks, labelling Mourinho a “fool”, but he now seems keen to consign the controversy to history.

Eto’o said yesterday: “The only thing I have to say vis-a-vis Jose Mourinho is to thank him.

“It is down to Jose Mourinho that I had the opportunity to be accepted and integrated into the Premier League, to play some great matches. That is the end of the discussion.”

Eto’o’s signing this week raises the possibility of a potential Everton debut against his old club, with Chelsea visiting Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday.

The former Barcelona and Inter Milan forward said: “I am not concerned about that aspect of it — that it is against my ex-team.

“The important thing is to integrate myself into my team-mates’ way of working and get myself ready during the training and preparation, potentially, for that match.”

“If that is not the case, should I not feature, it is important for me to get my head into the training for each match.”

One of the clubs most strongly linked with Eto’o, particularly in the last week, were Merseyside rivals Liverpool, before they eventually completed a deal for Mario Balotelli.

Eto’o refused to name which other clubs he had been approached by.

He said: “During my meetings with [Everton manager] Roberto Martinez I had a very good feeling. We had so much in common.

“Everton correspond with my philosophy on football and how the game is. In the last 10 days I have travelled quite a lot and spoken to quite a few managers. Over the course of those travels the person who I felt the most inspiring and would allow my contribution to best correspond was Roberto Martinez.”

Eto’o was this week replaced as Cameroon captain following his country’s poor World Cup campaign but he was also unwilling to discuss international matters.

“I am an Everton player now and that is the only thing that concerns me,” he said.

Martinez will assess the player’s fitness before deciding whether he can throw him straight into action against Chelsea, but he admits stopping Eto’o could be difficult.

Martinez, who said Everton’s transfer dealing were now at an end, said: “Being realistic I would have loved him to have 10-11 sessions before putting him in a competitive environment but I very quickly learned I was wasting my time.”