web-12d-sssa

Picture Credit: FC Barcelona

Former Barcelona and Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o hit back at a reporter after the reporter said that Eto’o 'played with Lionel Messi' during his Barcelona career. Eto’o took offence to the reporter's question regarding Messi in a recent interview.

Eto'o played alongside Messi at the Camp Nou for five years between 2004 and 2009, when the Argentine superstar was only a youngster. Meanwhile, Eto’o was the first-choice striker at the Spanish giants when Messi made his senior debut for the club.

Eto'o scored 130 goals in 199 games for Barcelona during his time at the club. The Cameroonian striker joined Barca from Real Mallorca in 2004 and averaged 26 goals per campaign. Eto'o and Messi won three La Liga titles together as well as the Champions League trophy in 2009. Arguably, Eto'o was probably the bigger name than Messi during the time as a young Messi found his feet at the club.

The former Inter Milan forward gave an angry reaction when he asked what it was like to play with Lionel Messi at Barcelona.

Eto'o was asked: "You mention Messi, what can he [Ansu Fati] learn from Messi? You obviously played with him..."

Eto'o then hit back sharply at the reporter with a smile on his face: "No. He played with me - it is different. Messi played with me. I did not play with Messi. In my time, Messi played with me. It is totally different. It is totally different."

Here's the video of the incident:

Even though Eto'o gave an angry response regarding Messi in the interview but he is still a massive fan of Lionel Messi.

Eto'o was one of those players who helped Lionel Messi a lot at Barcelona. He had a big impact on the Argentine's development and also gave him some important advice to help him develop as a player during their time together.

"[Messi] confessed to me that, thanks to my advice, which I am not going to reveal, his career had changed," Eto'o had told DAZN in April 2020.

"One day he said: 'Thanks to Samuel [Eto'o], my career changed'.

"He had to fix two or three things but he has always had the talent.

"I am proud and happy to see that he has written history which has yet to be finished, and it will be very difficult to beat what he has written."