Eto'o capture means no Rooney for Chelsea
Samuel Eto'o's move to Chelsea has signalled the end of the London club's summer-long pursuit of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney.
After his brazen pursuit of Rooney, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's concession that the chase was finally over, came after his side's UEFA Super Cup defeat to Bayern Munich on Friday.
Chelsea have brought in eight players since last season, including the dual capture from Anzhi Makhachkala of Willian and Eto'o.
"It's the end. We have a good group," Mourinho said.
"For all parties, it's (the Rooney pursuit) finished. One thing is to tell you through other people that you want, you want, you want very much, but at the end of the day...
"I feel everyone has the right to show his life, his future and I respect that."
The Portuguese made no secret of his desire to lure Rooney to London, goading the former Everton prodigee as recently as Monday, on a day Rooney starred for United in a goalless draw at Old Trafford, ironically, against Mourinho's Chelsea.
Chelsea had two bids turned down and with a third imminent, Mourinho took the step of inciting Rooney to publicly declare whether he favoured a move.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
However, with Eto'o's capture from Anzhi Makhachkala complete, Chelsea's spending appears complete after an outlay of around €65million during the European summer transfer window.
"Samuel will give us other kind of qualities in attack," Mourinho said of his latest signing.
"He is an experienced player in a team that needs some experienced players."
Eto'o joins Fernando Torres, Demba Ba, Romelu Lukaku as well as fellow signings Willian and Andre Schuerrle in a potent Chelsea attacking group.
‘Ruben Amorim could have waited for Real Madrid and had a better chance to be successful – to have joined Manchester United, he must be convinced in his own ability’ Former Old Trafford coach’s verdict on new boss
‘After Manchester City’s recent form, maybe they’re the underdogs against Manchester United!’ Former Red Devils defender on this weekend’s derby