Former Barcelona and Cameroon legend, Samuel Eto’o has insisted that he is the greatest African player to have ever played the game.
His comment comes after El-Hadji Diouf of Senegal and former Liverpool striker recently claim that he was the greatest striker ever from Africa, and most recently Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend, Didier Drogba was mentioned in a Twitter debate against Eto’o.
However, Eto’o has now dismissed their claims, saying there is no debate that he is the greatest African player to have ever played the game.
‘Even if my brother Diouf the last time, with an extra glass, got a little lost, there is no debate’, said Eto’o, via Goal.
‘None of them [Diouf and Drogba] can come and say that they were at my level or better.
‘And it’s not the fact that I say it, it’s a fact, it’s something that is there. I wanted to be number one and I have been throughout my career.’
Eto’o along with Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast claimed four African Player of the Year awards, while Diouf and Drogba earned the accolade just twice.
The Cameroonian legend who started at Real Madrid also played for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Everton.
Eto’o won three Champions League titles, three La Liga crowns, two Copa del Reys, Serie A, the Coppa Italia twice and the FIFA Club World Cup.
He also made 118 appearances for Cameroon, scoring 56 goals and playing at four World Cups. He also picked up Olympic gold in 2000 and won two African Cup of Nations titles.
Didier Drogba, who started his career with Le Mans, also played for Marseille, Chelsea, Guingamp, Shanghai Shenhua, Galatasaray, Montreal Impact and Phoenix Rising.
He had two spells at Chelsea, scoring 164 goals in 381 games, winning four Premier Leagues, and the 2012 Champions League.
In 108 appearances for his country, Drogba scored 61 goals. He played in three World Cups for Ivory Coast and featured in two editions of the African Cup of Nations.
El-Hadji Diouf, who sparked the debate, started his career with Sochaux and also played for Rennes, Lens , Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers, Rangers, Doncaster Rovers, Leeds United and Sabah FA,
He won just one League Cup with Liverpool, and the Scottish Premiership and League Cup with Rangers.
He has earned 69 international caps and scored 21 goals for Segenal.
