Samuel Eto'o

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

A precocious talent, Eto'o moved to Real Madrid as a 16 year old. Due to competition in his position with more experienced players, he had several loan spells, before signing for Mallorca in 2000 where he scored 70 goals, a club record. His impressive form saw him join Barcelona in 2004 where he scored 130 goals in five seasons and also became the record holder for the most appearances by an African player in La Liga. Winning La Liga three times, he was a key member of the Barcelona attack, alongside Ronaldinho, that won the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto'o scoring in the final, and was part of a front three of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry that won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto'o again scoring in the final. He is the first player in history to score in two UEFA Champions League finals. At Barcelona, Eto'o came in third for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005 and was twice named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in 2005 and 2006.

In Their Own Story

The 2008–09 season under new manager Pep Guardiola began with uncertainty. Guardiola made headlines by announcing that stars such as Ronaldinho, Deco, and Eto'o were not part of his plans; Eto'o ultimately remained with the club, while the other two departed, although Eto'o and Guardiola had several reported disagreements throughout the season. On 25 October, Eto'o recorded the fastest hat-trick in club history after netting three times in 23 minutes in a victory over Almería. Only two games later, on 8 November 2008, Eto'o scored four goals in the first half of Barcelona's game against Real Valladolid, which ended 6–0. On 29 November 2008, he scored his 111th career Barcelona goal in all competitions in a 3–0 road win over Sevilla, moving him into the club's top ten all-time goalscorers. On 14 February 2009, he scored his 99th and his 100th league goals for Barcelona. He was part of a front three of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry that won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto'o again scoring in the final.

Reader's Guide

He signed with Inter Milan for the 2009–10 season, where he became the first player to win two European continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter. He is the fourth player in Champions League history, after Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa, and Gerard Piqué, to have won the trophy two years in a row with different teams. After brief spells with Anzhi Makhachkala, Chelsea, Everton, and Sampdoria, Eto'o found prolific form again in the Süper Lig with Antalyaspor having scored 44 goals in 76 league games. In 2015, he received the Golden Foot Award.

Did You Know?

• He won the African Player of the Year a record four times, winning in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.
• As a member of the Cameroon national team, Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics.
• He also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002.
• Eto'o is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with 18 goals, and is Cameroon's all-time leading scorer and third most capped player, with 56 goals in 118 caps.