Samuel Eto'o and Cameroon's other World Cup stars are locked in a battle with their federation over bonuses for the tournament, press reports said. The African team, who will be playing in their seventh finals in Brazil, beat Macedonia 2-0 in a warm-up match in Austria on Monday. Back home the players face mounting press criticism over their wage demands.
The Cameroon government last week offered 61,000 euros, which the players rejected, and then increased it to 68,000 euros, which was also turned down, Cameroon daily Le Jour reported. Le Jour said the players were demanding more than 120 million CFA francs (182,000 euros) each. The daily blasted the demand as "indecent". The Nouvelle Expression daily said there is "tension" over the bonuses, which have been a regular problems between the players and their bosses.
At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when Cameroon failed to get a point and slumped out after the first round, the players received a reported 65,000 euros. The team reached the quarter finals in 1990 but have otherwise failed to get past the first round. Their record has been picked up by critics in the latest money dispute. The team have a second warm-up game against Paraguay in Austria on Thursday.