Samuel Eto'o Bio Send To Friend  

One of the world's most feared strikers, Eto'o has established himself at the top of the game with his combination of pace and deadly accuracy in front of goal.

The Cameroon frontman had a slow start to his career, but blossomed into a world-class striker while with Barcelona and, despite reports linking him with a move away from the club, has made himself a legend at the Nou Camp.

Beginning his footballing life at Real Madrid in 1997, aged just 15, Eto'o struggled to make an impact and was loaned to second-division Leganés for the 1997-98 season. Failing to make his mark on the side, the striker played for a season, before eventually finding his feet at Mallorca.

Initially joining on loan, he impressed in La Liga and began to find the back of the net with regularity. Winning over the fans with his high work rate and finishing prowess, Eto'o earned himself a permanent move to the club in 2000 when he was signed for a club record £4.4m.

His time at Mallorca was fruitful and he notched up 54 goals in 133 appearances; but he also earned himself a reputation as a fiery character and got involved in off-pitch incidents which raised questions over his temperament.

With a blossoming international career that included wins in the 2000 and 2002 African Cup of Nations and the 2000 Summer Olympics, with Cameroon, his career had taken off. At the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, he starred again and was awarded the African Player of the Year award in 2003.

Internationally, Eto'o had been on the scene for a while. He earned his first cap with Cameroon at age 15 in 1996 and became the youngest player at the 1998 World Cup aged just 17 years and 3 months. But no-one could have predicted how far he would rise.

Attracting transfer attention in the summer of 2004, Real Madrid tried to sign him again, but as the team already had its full quota of three non-EU players, failed. Barcelona snapped him up for what now seems like a bargain price of €24m and he made his debut in the season opener at Racing Santander on 29 August 2004.

He quickly became an important player at the Nou Camp and won his first La Liga title in 2004-05, cementing his place in the side with 24 goals. The following season his scoring form improved and he picked up the Pichichi (top La Liga goalscorer) award and also contributed greatly to Barcelona's Champions League win at the end of the season.

The first major injury of his career occurred at the start of 2006-07, as he ruptured the meniscus in his right knee during Barcelona's Champions League group stage match against Werder Bremen. Ruled out for five months, he began training again in January 2007, but was caught up in a row with Ronaldinho when he returned to the side. Without making the same impact, he still managed to net 11 goals in 18 games, but Barca would not win the league.

They would suffer again the following season when Eto'o aggravated his meniscus injury in pre-season and could not play until December. He gained Spanish citizenship and then returned to net an incredible 16 in 18 starts, but it wasn't enough for the title.

Impressing in the 2008 African Cup of Nations, he finished as the top scorer for the second consecutive tournament, matching his 2006 total of five goals. And in doing so, became the tournament's all time leading scorer.

Elevating himself to the club's top ten all-time goalscorers, Eto'o's place in Catalan history was assured when his goals helped to seal the first treble for any Spanish team in 2009. However, his place in the squad was not assured under new boss Pep Guardiola and he chose to move on from Spain - agreeing a five-year deal with Inter Milan, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic going the other way.