Samuel Eto'o has put pen to paper on a five-year deal at Inter Milan to complete the 'swap' deal that has seen Zlatan Ibrahimovic join Barcelona. The Serie A champions confirmed the Cameroon striker had signed a deal with them just over an hour after Barcelona announced Ibrahimovic had signed a five-year contract with them. Eto'o passed a medical at the San Matteo hospital in Pavia this evening, before the finishing touches were put on a deal that will also see winger Alexander Hleb join Inter on a season-long loan. A statement on Inter's website welcomed the player's arrival to the club and revealed the 28-year-old will be presented before the media tomorrow afternoon.
"Everyone at FC Internazionale and all the fans warmly welcome Samuel Eto'o to the club, and are proud to have him in the team, convinced that new and important triumphs will be reached together," the statement read. After completing his medical this evening, Eto'o said he was looking forward to establishing himself as a force in Serie A after five prolific seasons with Barca. "I made history at Barcelona, but that history is finished now," he said. "A new story begins at Inter; I'm starting from scratch; I want a new adventure and I hope everything goes well. "I can't but wish Ibrahimovic good luck. I have won a lot at Barcelona and now I hope to do the same with these colours, if not, more."
Ibrahimovic was presented before the media in Barcelona this evening, where the details of the deal were revealed. Barcelona have paid ?46 million (Dh252m) for the Swede, with the extra ?20m made up in the Spanish club's valuation of Eto'o. That went most of the way to making up the ?70m valuation Inter had placed on Ibrahimovic, with the Italians also getting Hleb on a year-long loan. The Belorussian has shown some reluctance to agree to the deal, but it may end in a permanent move ? with Inter having an option to buy the player for ?10m after his loan deal expires next summer. Eto'o, however, seems focused on making his mark at the San Siro and pledged to score more goals than he did during his time at Barcelona.
"I promise the fans that I will work every day, as I have always done," said Eto'o ? who scored 39 goals in 49 appearances for the Catalans last term. "This is at the base of everything. I believe in my work and the group. I don't have to say that what I want to do is score even more goals; I know I'm capable of scoring goals and I know that through my work I will score even more. "I know that Inter strongly want to win the Champions League, but you can't just think about the cup ? because if you're too concentrated on the Champions League the other objectives fade into the background and then maybe there's also the risk of exiting the European competition as well. "You need to take each match as it comes and consider all of them like finals."
* PA Sport
