They shared the same locker room at FC Barcelona between 2007 and 2009, won together a Champions League and several national titles under Pep Guardiola. But between Samuel Eto'o and Thierry Henry, recognition does not seem reciprocal. More than fifteen years after their common adventure in Catalonia, the former Cameroonian scorer does not hide that he does not consider French as an attacker of his scale.
During an exchange on the greatest attackers of his generation, Eto'o was categorical. “Thierry Henry was not at Nicolas Anelka. It was good, but I knew other players who were better. In any case, he was not at my level, no “he said, without detour. A statement that questions the place of the 1998 world champion in the hierarchy of scorers of the time.
Worse, the former African Ballon d'Or has literally snubbed El Hadji Diouf, the former Senegalese international. Asked about the possibility of comparing him to other big names in African football, ETO'O was dryly answered: “No, I'm not talking about Diouf, because it is not even in this category. »»
“In France, they know how to sell”
The former Barça player also denounced what he perceives as a form of media favoritism around the players passed by the league 1. According to him, their exhibition would have enabled them to build a flattering image, sometimes to the detriment of sporting merit.
“You know, the bad luck or the luck I had, it is not to have played in France. When you play in France, you have 70 % more than the other players. Not because they are stronger, but because they know how to sell their players. They know how to put them at our level ”he analyzed. Words that risk making noise.
