Source: Telegraph
Manchester City's hopes of signing Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona remain in doubt
Joan Laporta, the Barcelona president, admitted on Sunday that City had made a 'stratospheric' offer for Eto'o and City confirmed that a £25 million offer had been lodged.
However, Eto'o has one season of his present contract left to run and, rather than accept the riches on offer at City, he is preparing to see out the final year before leaving Barcelona for nothing next summer.
A firm announcement is expected on Tuesday and Josep Maria Mesalles, Eto'o's agent, said: 'If there is not a 180-degree turnaround then he will stay with Barcelona.'
Having missed out on Kaka last January, it would continue to prove City will struggle to attract the marquee signing their Abu Dhabi-based backers have been looking for without the added lure of Champions League football.
Mark Hughes, the City manager, remains in the chase for Carlos Tevez and it is understood that Eastlands remains his preferred choice. Tevez is available from Wednesday.
Reports in Spain also suggest a £3.5 million offer for Espanyol right-back Sergio Sanchez, a former team-mate of City player Pablo Zabaleta, is set to be made by Hughes.
Meanwhile Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president, has confirmed he is still trying to find a way of curbing the Premier League's 'stratospheric' spending power.
Despite the fact that Real Madrid have been the key figures in the transfer market so far, with the signing of Kaka followed, later this week, by the £80 million arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, Blatter remains deeply troubled at the migration of talent to England. He views the method of owning clubs in England as inherently unsatisfactory, putting the Premier League at an advantage compared to their major European counterparts.
Blatter said: 'There are big associations, like France, Germany and Spain where there is a bylaw that the owners of the club must be at least 51 per cent from the club.
'They must be members of the club or partners from the same country. This does not exist in the Premier League and it is a problem we have to address.'
Yet Blatter admitted that he is powerless to achieve his aims, adding: 'We have no right to interfere in economic movements.
We, the whole Fifa family, are aware of this.
'We have spoken before about financial fair play. Financial fair play is not only a licensing system and financing control but financing fair play means also that all participants should observe a minimum of fair play.'
