Samuel Eto'o has revealed his admiration for Liverpool, but claims he is not looking to leave Barcelona.
The Cameroonian is one of the most highly regarded strikers in world football, but his future at Barcelona has been shrouded in doubt for much of the season.
He had public fall out with Barca coach Frank Rijkaard and it was claimed in March that Eto'o had been offered to clubs in the Premiership.
This was swiftly denied by Eto'o's advisors, but the forward has added fuel to the fire by admitting he is a fan of Liverpool.
"I like Liverpool's courage," he is quoted as saying in Four Four Two Magazine. "They have a big red heart. They showed that against us. We did not underestimate them.
"You have to recognise that in the two games, Liverpool played extremely well. They defend well and are organised.
"I like Gerrard. He runs a lot. He does everything well.
"Gerrard is the best English player. No, change that, at the moment he is the best player in England."
Eto'o admits to being a fan of English football, but claims he is not looking to leave Barcelona.
"I watch English football," he added. "I like the crowd because it is always close to the pitch and the stadiums are always full.
"We played at Anfield and it was very loud, with lots of different songs. I like that. Football is different in England. It has a place in English hearts."
Commenting on his own future, he added: "I have a contract here until 2010 and I am happy with that."
Eto'o is a huge fan of Thierry Henry and Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo claims Barca are considering making a summer bid for the Arsenal striker, having come close to landing him last year
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has refused to rule out a move for Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o.
Eto'o revealed earlier this week his admiration for Liverpool and Reds skipper Steven Gerrard after being impressed by them in the two UEFA Champions League clashes between the two sides earlier this season.
The Cameroon star's future at Barcelona has been the subject of speculation after a bust-up with coach Frank Rijkaard with reports suggesting he could be on his way out of Camp Nou in the summer.
Liverpool have been linked with Eto'o as they are expected to try and bring in a new striker in the summer and Benitez has admitted he is a fan of the African hit-man.
"Samuel is very clever, normally everyone wants to play alongside Steven (Gerrard) or Xabi (Alonso)," said Benitez. "But we can talk about players in the next few months.
"But Samuel Eto'o is a good player, and so is Stevie. It would be normal they would want to play together.
"But it is just speculation, at the moment it means nothing."
Benitez is focusing his attention of tying down his top stars to new deals to ward off any potential exits from Anfield.
The likes of Gerrard, Alonso and Jamie Carragher are all expected to be offered lucrative new deals in a bid to keep them at the club for the foreseeable future.
Benitez has admitted the club are talking to several players about new contracts.
"We are talking now to the players," added Benitez.
Jose Reina is one of the players keen on signing a new deal and the Spaniard is hoping to have talks with the club's new owners soon as he believes the future looks bright for Liverpool
"We will be speaking to the new owners over the next few days, but I've said many times now I'm really happy at Liverpool and I want to extend my contract," Reina told the Liverpool Echo.
"The key for any growing team is not only to improve with new players, but also to make sure the key players and the spine of the side stays together. Then you can build an even stronger team around this. That spine is here at Liverpool.
"The project will be to build a team which is massive and can win many things.
"The new owners have said before they make transfers they first of all want to prepare new deals. Then I'm sure they will think about the summer. At this moment, the future looks brilliant.
"I've not met the owners yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon."
Well is he ?
Possibly not but there are two articles there, and it definately looks to me as if Eto is keeping his options open. And Rafa isnt exactly doing anything to refuse speculation.
I remeber a few years back when we we're apparently interested in him when Houllier was here. Saying something about the English weather and how it would put him off, well I can understand that being an African and living in Spain. So I thought he'd never end up here, not just because of that but like most footballers these days isnt he known a bit for being a mercinary I doubt back then we'd of had the finacial clout to pay him a weekly wage that would make him happy. Now though as it seems we probably would have the money that could possibly persuade him.
I dont know all this could be nonsense and nothing may come of it. But if he were ever to leave Barca would it be for England ? Possibly as he claims he likes the crowds and stadiums. Arsenal were mentioned also, if Barca were to sell him would they want the Gunners Henry in return, or even our Alonso or would they take the money. Who knows but its being brought up often enough, if Rafa does rate him maybe he should pull out the stops to land him, afterall he is the kind of quality that we're as fans this summer are wanting.
but Graham Hunter on Sky Sports' la liga coverage has stated on a number of occasions that not only has there been the problem between Eto'o and Rijkaard but also Eto'o has had a bit of a falling out with Ronaldinho. There is a belief that one of the two will leave barcelona this summer and in recent days Joan Laporte (Barcelona President) has confirmed that Ronaldinho will be staying put. Read into this information what you want to but it could just be that come the start of next season we may have Samuel Eto'o pulling on the Liverpool number 9 shirt. 
