Barcelona boss Josep Guardiola has finally indicated that Samuel Eto'o will stay on at Camp Nou.
The Cameroonian star had been strongly linked with a move away from Camp Nou following the appointment of Guardiola as coach.
The new Barça boss revealed on his first press conference that Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o were not part of his plans and that they had been given the green light to leave the club.
Eto'o later flew to Uzbekistan to discuss a possible deal with local club Kuruvchi and it was suggested that the African hit-man was on the verge of leaving Barcelona.
However, the former Mallorca man has been in great form under Guardiola, having had his best pre-season for Barça since his arrival in 2004.
His commitment to the club has impressed the manager, who is willing to reward Eto'o with a spot in his squad.
"Samuel Eto'o will stay with us because that's his wish and my wish," Guardiola noted. "I know what I said in the first day, that I did not count with him, as I also said that I would treat him like any other player.
"His behaviour in Scotland and in the United States has made me decide that he will stay with us. And, besides, he is a player with a lot of talent."
Guardiola insisted that this decision was not caused by the difficulties to find a replacement for Eto'o, having stressed that he is not looking for a new player for the African's position.
"The negotiations to sign a 9' stopped some weeks ago because Txiki and myself ordered so," he said.
"Before signing someone you have to let someone else leave and since everything was going fine it was not necessary to sign anyone. It will all stay the same."
Looking ahead to the meeting with Wisla Krakow on Wednesday, Guardiola stated that the prospect of the crowd reacting badly to Eto'o wasn't a concern.
"I'm not worried about his past," he shrugged. "Tomorrow, there will be no whistles.
"People know the importance of this game, and I can only go on what I've seen in the past three weeks. In these I have only positive words to say about him."
The new Barça boss revealed on his first press conference that Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o were not part of his plans and that they had been given the green light to leave the club.
Eto'o later flew to Uzbekistan to discuss a possible deal with local club Kuruvchi and it was suggested that the African hit-man was on the verge of leaving Barcelona.
However, the former Mallorca man has been in great form under Guardiola, having had his best pre-season for Barça since his arrival in 2004.
His commitment to the club has impressed the manager, who is willing to reward Eto'o with a spot in his squad.
"Samuel Eto'o will stay with us because that's his wish and my wish," Guardiola noted. "I know what I said in the first day, that I did not count with him, as I also said that I would treat him like any other player.
"His behaviour in Scotland and in the United States has made me decide that he will stay with us. And, besides, he is a player with a lot of talent."
Guardiola insisted that this decision was not caused by the difficulties to find a replacement for Eto'o, having stressed that he is not looking for a new player for the African's position.
"The negotiations to sign a 9' stopped some weeks ago because Txiki and myself ordered so," he said.
"Before signing someone you have to let someone else leave and since everything was going fine it was not necessary to sign anyone. It will all stay the same."
Looking ahead to the meeting with Wisla Krakow on Wednesday, Guardiola stated that the prospect of the crowd reacting badly to Eto'o wasn't a concern.
"I'm not worried about his past," he shrugged. "Tomorrow, there will be no whistles.
"People know the importance of this game, and I can only go on what I've seen in the past three weeks. In these I have only positive words to say about him."
