Lionel Messi Stunned By Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o Sale

Barcelona were keen to sell Samuel Eto'o all summer, ultimately offloading him to Inter, much to the surprise of one of their stars...

Lionel Messi has revealed that he was surprised that Barcelona chose to swap Samuel Eto'o for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Argentine forward felt that his former team-mate at Camp Nou would stay for the new season after being part of the front trio who netted over 100 goals last term.

Instead, he was left stunned by a deal that saw Eto'o plus cash head to Inter, with Barca signing Ibrahimovic in return.

"It was a deal that surprised me because Samuel has given so much to Barcelona, with the amount of goals he scored, the titles he has won," he told reporters in Milan.

"He was a very important player. But so was Ibrahimovic to Inter - he was an essential player."

Looking ahead to the Champions League campaign, Messi expects the Premier League sides to once again do well, while Madrid will need to gel in order succeed.

"Our rivals for the Champions League are always the same: the English, who are very strong, and Real Madrid, with all their reinforcements, but [they] will need time to blend with new coaches, new players," he added.
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