FC Barcelona captain Carles Puyol attended the press conference yesterday and revealed that the "Case Eto´o" is finally solved and the squad is united once again. Carles Puyol showed his qualities as leader of the pack and took his responsibility appear in front of the media. Puyol was very calm and very relaxed.


Here is a selection of his comments during the official press conference:

I carry out my role as captain. When you are in this position you have good things to do and, sometimes, other things that you may not like so much.

It has been said in the media that there are two groups within the squad. Samuel has never said that there are two groups though. He was referring to a belief that on the outside, there are people that defend one player and other people who defend someone else. But in the squad I can assure that we are all together and we all want what is best for Barça. Away from that, everyone's opinion should be respected.

We talked in the dressing room because it was important enough for that. There was a big misunderstanding over Ronaldinho's words and now everything has happened as a consequence. They have talked things over and it has all become clear, I am a witness to that. Ronaldinho never wanted to accuse Samuel, in fact the complete opposite. We also held a captains meeting with Eto'o and that has made us all stronger. We have to be even more together now as there are so many hard games coming up. The two of them have a good relationship and it was a one-off thing.

I arrived 8.45 am and Samuel was already in the dressing room. We held the meeting and then Rijkaard came in and we spoke to the rest of the players after that. In the meeting the captains all talked about the two of them and everything was sorted out and this made us more united. We have to be together with the games that lie ahead.

If training on Wednesday is anything to go by, it was plain to see that this has made us even more focussed. It was one of the best training sessions I can remember during my time at the club.

An explanation had to be given. If he was able to give a reason why that all happened then the subject would be closed. I asked him myself and he told us and I understood. He has just recovered from a long injury and he needs to prepare himself properly and that is why he did not want to play. He has always wanted to play and to rediscover the strength that he had before the injury. Eto'o also has no problems with Rijkaard.

During the meeting, what the two of them said, was sincere and the case has been closed. Things have been said and that is where mistakes were made. Eto'o took what he read in the newspapers the wrong way. If people had talked on Monday, because there was a game on Tuesday, then the subject would have been resolved before now. The meeting did not last more than ten minutes. But, if we had talked on Monday, then I would not be saying this now.

Rijkaard has control of the squad. Everyone is fine. People believe that there is something bad within the squad, but that is just not true. If explanations had been given sooner than everybody would have understood. Eto'o has a good relationship with the squad and is with us all the way, just like the last few years. We all want to win trophies together.