Samuel Eto'o Won't Harm Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, Despite Roberto Carlos Warning

Jose Mourinho is a galvaniser of men. He fabricates a "siege mentality"purely to unite his team against the world. He cries when his players cry, and he is loved by (almost) every man who works under him. 

But the veteran version of Samuel Eto’o, the post-2011 version of the Cameroonian, has the potential to disturb Mourinho’s Chelsea harmony, according to an interview Roberto Carlos gave to Globoesporte (via the Daily Telegraph).

Carlos was manager of Anzhi Makhachkala when the club made Eto’o the world’s highest-paid player, but he recalls how the African striker’s actions prompted him to leave the club. The Telegraph provides the quotes:

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There's a part of him that thinks 'I, and not the group', which is really damaging. When a footballer, instead of playing, is interested in signing players who are his friends . . . it's confusing and strange. He did everything at Anzhi, except play football.

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Carlos’ comments come in the same week that Eto’o reportedly quit international football following a fallout with coach Volker Finke, as Reuters reports.

The disagreement was said to have been sparked by the coach’s refusal to listen to Eto’o, who wanted Carlos Kameni and Achille Webo to play in the weekend win against Libya.

Carlos claims such behaviour would not be out of character for the former Barcelona forward, who did a similar thing at Anzhi.

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A moment arrived when Eto'o thought to interfere with my work, to control the club, taking my position and that of Guus [Hiddink].

We talked about one thing, and then he went to the players and talked about another. That stressed me out and I warned that I would pack my bags and go.

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However, Eto’o's stay at Chelsea could be the final act in his stellar career. Eto'o has won league titles in Spain and Italy at club level, while at international level he is the top scorer in Cameroon’s history.

Mourinho is unlikely to concern himself with Carlos’ words, given that he has already formed a strong bond with Eto’o from their time at Inter Milan. Indeed, Eto’o recently stated that Chelsea’s greatest advantage over their Premier League rivals is their coach.

Eto’o is also unlikely to find many willing listeners if he does plan to undermine his manager in the manner reported by Carlos. The Chelsea dressing room’s biggest names—John Terry, Frank Lampard, Petr Cech—all have 100 percent respect for Mourinho and will not feel like Eto’o's inferior.

At Anzhi there was no doubt that the Cameroonian was the star of the squad, by virtue of his wages alone, but at Chelsea he will face a fight just to get into the starting XI and will therefore be focused on his own place rather than those of his team-mates.