Uzbekistan League side Kuruvchi claim to have pulled off and amazing transfer coup by signing Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o on a six month deal - but the Catalan giants have laughed off the news. Eto'o, who has been told he is not part of coach Pep Guardiola's plans, is expected to leave the Nou Camp this summer. On Monday morning, the Uzbekistan League leaders announced in an official statement on their website that they had landed the 27-year-old forward on a six-month deal.
Mirdzhalol Kasymov, head coach, said: "This is not a joke. I still do not know all the details of the deal, but I can say that Eto'o will play for six months in the colours of Kuruvchi in the national championship and the Asian Champions League.
"Eto'o is the perfect person to promote football in our country."
Kuruvchi also claim to have set up a friendly with Barcelona in Tashkent!
The seemingly unlikely transfer had been made possible due to good relations between the Primera Liga side and the Tashkent club.
The side are currently top of the Uzbekistan league table, and in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League
The official club statement which confirmed the transfer read: "(Kuruvchi have) signed a contract with Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona.
"The striker will arrive in Tashkent on July 17 and will play in the second half of the championship of Uzbekistan."
However, despite the Uzbekistan club's insistence that the transfer will go ahead, Barcelona denied any knowledge of the move.
An official spokesperson for the Nou Camp side said: "Nobody at the club knows anything about this. I don't think it's very likely."
taken from
www.sport.co.uk_________________
