One of the ironies of Samuel Eto’o playing for FC Barcelona is that he initially joined arch-rivals Real Madrid, who promptly loaned him out; from first to second CD Leganés; then to Espanyol in the first division after playing only one league game with Madrid; and finally to Majorca. He did so well at the latter club that he was signed for a club record and he became the club’s all-time top scorer with a total of 54 goals between 2000 and 2004.
The Cameroonian forward signed for FC Barcelona after a series of negotiations between Barcelona, Mallorca and Real Madrid which had retained an option on him. On the one hand, Madrid did not need him in the team since they had two strikers like Ronaldo and Raúl; instead they did not want him to play for Barcelona, a club that was looking for a quality striker to cement the attack after failing to reach an agreement with midfielder Edgar Davids, who had spent the second part of the 2003-2004 season on loan to Barcelona. Catalan club.
With Eto’o as a striker and Ronaldinho as an attacking midfielder, Samuel Eto’o quickly proved value for money, scoring a total of 24 league goals in the 2004-2005 season. Although he helped FC Barcelona clinch the league title, he narrowly missed out on La Liga’s top scorer title.
However, in the celebrations that followed at the Camp Nou he gave a speech in which he was openly critical of Real Madrid, apparently venting the bitterness he felt at being passed over by the club in favor of being loaned out. He later had to retract his statement and issue an apology.
The following year Samuel Eto’o was able to improve his league score and with a total of 26 goals he narrowly won the “Pichichi” crown, just one goal ahead of David Villa from Valencia. His great performance on the pitch also saw him score six Champions League goals, helping propel Barcelona all the way to the final against Arsenal. He was heavily involved in the result as first the Arsenal goalkeeper was sent off for a foul against Eto’o in the first 20 minutes; Unable to capitalize on the one-man advantage, Eto’o equalized in the 76th minute through a pass from Larsson and Belletti scored the winner a few minutes later.
Building on a good season, Samuel Eto’o was awarded the title of Best Forward in the UEFA Champions League and Best African Player for the third consecutive year.