Barcelona last night claimed they had rejected a world record £50 million bid from Chelsea for African Player of the Year and Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich personally gave the green light for the record breaking approach for the Cameroon striker, according to sources close to the Nou Camp hierarchy.

Chelsea made their move in the Barcelona boardroom at the pre-match banquet before last week's Champions League tie.

Chelsea’s chief executive Peter Kenyon is reported to have approached Barcelona President Joan Laporta personally to make the massive bid for the striker.

But the Barcelona have claimed that when Laporta was approached by Kenyon, he answered: “Eto'o is not for sale for all the gold in the world.”

If Barcelona’s claims of an approach are true, it would be the second time in less than a year that the richest football club in the world has been unsuccessful in gaining the African strikers signature, after failing in an effort to sign him last summer.

It has also been reported that Chelsea are planning a summer swoop for three new strikers, with Ukraine and AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko, Inter's Brazilian striker Adriano and Sweden and Juventus star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic all on the Chelsea target list.

Even with Laporta’s vote of confidence, the African Player-of-the-Year Eto’o will keep the Chelsea offer in contention, with the constant debate over the up-coming arrival of France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry to the club.

Barcelona's drawn-out pursuit of the Arsenal skipper is being described as a done deal in the Catalan press despite Henry having said nothing at all about his future, but fuelling the speculation of a summer move by refusing to sign a new contract.

“There is room here for great players and if Henry comes he will be made welcome. But the same goes for him as it would for Zidane or my grandmother,” said Eto’o of the move.

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