Mourinho reveals failed Chelsea bid for Eto'o

As rumours grow that Samuel Eto'o wants to move to Chelsea - and is even willing to take a pay cut to make the deal happen - it has emerged Jose Mourinho

 has tried to sign him for the Blues before.

Eto'o famously played under Mourinho at Inter and the pair have remained close ever since.

And Mourinho admits he also tried to buy him during his last spell as Chelsea boss - but ended up with Andriy Shevchenko instead.

Mourinho was answering a question about the truth behind the £30m Shevchenko signing which at the time, in 2006, many people suggested was made by owner Roman Abramovich and without the Special One's say-so.

"That's not true," he said. "You want to know the truth? I hope the board is not upset with me! But I'll tell you.

"What happened was we wanted to buy Eto'o and he was our target. And the owner was more than ready to do everything to bring Samuel Eto'o here because he was the player I wanted. You know why? Because he was the only player I could play with Drogba, changing the system for two strikers. And he was also ready to play with Drogba with the system we had at the time with three attacking players, with Samuel Eto'o coming from the sides. The same I did with Inter with him. Sometimes I was playing Eto'o and Milito and when I wanted to play with three I was Pandev, Milito and Eto'o.

"So we wanted Eto'o. And the boss did everything to bring him - and Peter Kenyon did everything to bring him. And in the end Barcelona said 'we don't sell, forget it - one more zero, one less zero, forget it'. So our option that the owner was doing everything to bring was not possible because Barcelona decided no money would do it. And after that we looked at other options and it became a Shevchenko option."

So could Mourinho finally be ready to get his man, seven years on? With the Wayne Rooney transfer looking less and less likely, Eto'o could prove a real viable alternative; and all the reports from Russia, where Eto'o currently plays for Anzhi, is that the Cameroon striker would love to move to Stamford Bridge. He would cost £5m but his wages, currently £18m a year after tax, could be a problem.