Well, there’s no doubting that this team has a lot of money to throw around: Anzhi Makhachkala, undoubtedly the best team in Dagestan, is reportedly going to be paying Samuel Eto’o $28.8 million per season.
To put that in perspective with other soccer stars, Chelsea defender reportedly makes around $13 million a year, Barcelona superstar makes $15.1 million per year and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo makes an estimated $17.3 million. But apparently Anzhi feels that Eto’o is worth more than all of them.
Eto’o is a fine player, but he’s not the best in the world, even at his own position. He’s certainly not worth one of the biggest contracts in all of sports. He’s also 30-years-old, an age where most soccer players start to see a huge decline in their production.
This also comes after Anzhi threw $38.9 million Inter Milan’s way to buy the Cameroon striker and three-time Champions League winner.
The team is owned by Suleiman Kerimov, an oil tycoon who ranks as the 118th richest person in the world, being valued at $7.8 billion.
Also, don’t worry about Eto’o and his new teammates having to live Makhachkala, an area plagued by violence over the past two years. The entire team lives and trains in Moscow, only heading to their “home” stadium for matches. The distance between Makhachkala and Moscow? It’s only about 1,250 miles. Talk about a long commute to work.