Eto´o wants 3mln euros from Barcelona

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o is demanding three million euros from Barcelona after his transfer from the Spanish club to Inter Milan, the Spanish club said Tuesday.

The amount represents 15 percent of the 20 million euro (29 million dollar) fee which the Italian side paid Barcelona during the summer, a club official told AFP.

The deal also saw Inter’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic join European champions Barcelona for 46 million euros.

If the two parties fail to reach a settlement the matter could end up in court.

Eto’o bases his demand on a Spanish footballer’s association rule that a player has the right to 15 percent of the amount of his transfer fee to another Spanish club, the official said.

But Barcelona argues it does not owe Eto’o anything because the rule is an agreement between Spanish clubs and because the percentage payment is the responsibility of the club that buys the player.

A Spanish judge in February 2008 found in a similar case that Deportivo La Coruna had to pay 2.1 million euros to Spanish striker Albert Luque, the equivalent of 15 percent his transfer to Newcastle in August 2005 for 14 million euros.

“We are going to defend our interests,” the Barcelona official said, adding each transfer was different.

Eto’o won two Champions League titles with Barca, in 2006 and 2009, scoring the decisive goal in both finals.