SAMUEL ETO’O MAINTAINS HE WANTS TO STAY AT INTER

      The skipper of Cameroon’s indomitable Lions, Striker Samuel Eto’o insists he wants to stay at Internazionale despite enduring a difficult season in Italy. The 30-year-old Cameroon international has denied reports suggesting he is looking for a fresh start away from Italy following a number of incidents in which he was subjected to racial abuse.

Samuel Eto’o and Ivorian wife, Georgette during the Cannes festival-France

        The former Barcelona forward, who swapped the Camp Nou for the San Siro in 2009, says he is focused on helping Inter beat Palermo to win the Coppa Italia on Sunday night.

In a statement on Inter’s website, Eto’o said: “Dear Inter fans, I want to be very clear, as I have always been throughout my career and with you, the fans, who have shown me so much affection and respect from my very first day in Milan. “Don’t worry: my only thought is winning, alongside my team-mates, the Coppa Italia, which would be the sixth trophy in two years and the third this season. “Nothing that happens away from the pitch, though it may upset me as a man, can drive me away from Inter.”

           Inter president Massimo Morratti also believes Eto’o will stay with the Serie A side beyond the summer. “Eto’o is one of our players, 100 per cent. He has no intention of leaving,” said Moratti. “These incidents can happen but I don’t think they are enough for him to want to leave Inter. “Unfortunately you get this sort of behaviour sometimes, but with the good sense, patience and intelligence of these lads, of these players, you can go beyond such things.”

        Eto’o also wished his former Barcelona team-mates luck in Saturday’s Champions League final against Manchester United at Wembley. “I’ll be at the final in spirit because I have good friends who will be playing so my heart will be with them,” Eto’o told Uefa.com. “I definitely hope Barcelona win. But you never know what will happen. Both Manchester United and Barcelona have improved [since the 2009 final]. I hope it will be a beautiful final.”