Chelsea’s Samuel Eto'o annoyed with Jose Mourinho’s comments

Cheslea striker Samuel Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o is reportedly unhappy with manager Jose Mourinho after the Chelsea boss mocked his striking options and questioned Eto’o’s age in a private conversation that was leaked to the media.

Mourinho was filmed claiming Chelsea do not have a striker despite the presence of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Eto’o, while he was also heard to claim that the Cameroonian is, “32 years old, maybe 35, who knows?”

While Mourinho has been on the defence since French broadcaster Canal+ put his comments on air, former Cameroon manager Claude Le Roy has revealed that Eto’o is deeply unhappy with his manager over those comments and is considering his future with the club, with his contract at Stamford Bridge due to expire in the summer.

Le Roy told Canal+, “I had him on the phone just before I came on screen and I can tell you he’s very annoyed.

“Actually, Mourinho went to see him before he saw the pictures and told him not to believe everything that was going to be said and that he had said nothing about him.

“But I can tell you, Samuel did not like it.”

Canal+ also defended their actions after coming under criticism from Mourinho, who felt they had breached his privacy by filming his conversation with another person, claiming they had twisted his jocular behaviour into something more sinister.

The French broadcasters said, “These are not stolen images. The camera is not ten metres away, it’s not on zoom.

“You could see the red light and he was clearly aware he was being filmed, especially as he’s somebody who comes across cameras so often and who is used to the media.

“Mourinho perhaps did not want to fully assume what he had said. He could have come to see the journalist and asked us not to use the images. He did not make any special request.”

Samuel Eto’o has six goals from his 17 Premier League appearances for Chelsea, having converted 17.1% of his chances.