Football Talk - Man City deny Eto'o talks - 28/04/09
Manchester City have denied holding talks with senior officials from Barcelona over a possible £40m deal to bring striker Samuel Eto'o to the Premier League.
Several UK newspapers reported that Barcelona president Joan Laporta met with Man City executive chairman Garry Cook in London ahead of Tuesday's Champions League semi-final, first leg against Chelsea.
The 28-year-old Cameroon international has been in impressive form this season, scoring 32 goals in 42 appearances for the Catalan outfit, but has so far stalled on the offer of a new four-year contract. With Eto'o about to start the last year of his current deal a £40m fee would represent good business for Barcelona.
Since taking over Manchester City last August the Abu Dhabi United Group have been keen to acquire star players and have already broken the British transfer record once, splashing £32m on buying Brazilian forward Robinho from Real Madrid. In January they tried but failed to land Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka in a deal that was reportedly worth £103 million.
