Inter Milan has reportedly reached a deal to sell striker Samuel Eto’o to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala for $38.9 million and Anzhi is expected to give Eto’o athree-year contract worth $28.8 million per season.
If so, that would make the Cameroonian the world’s highest paid player, surpassing the estimated $17.3 million that CristianoRonaldo earns at Real Madrid and the $15.1 million that Lionel Messi is paid by Barcelona.
Anzhi, from the southern Russian province of Dagestan, is owned bybillionaire oil tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. Eto, 30, is considered still in his prime. He has won three Champions League titles — two with Barcelona and one with Inter — and isapparently excited about playing in the developing Russian league.
In Forbes magazine’s latest list of the world’s richest people, Kerimov’s net worth was estimated at$7.8 billion. Anzhi’s captain is 38-year-old Roberto Carlos, once the star left back for Brazil. Eto’o led Inter with 37 goals in all competitions last season.