Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has announced his retirement following 22 years of playing professional football. Eto’o began his career at Real Madrid making just three appearances for them.
The former Cameroon international had loan stints with Leganes and Espanyol until he moved permanently to Mallorca who also initially had him on loan.
It was at Mallorca that his career kicked off. The former Chelsea star scored 40 goals in 128 matches for Los Bermellones and that caught the attention of Barcelona.
The 38-year-old joined the Blaugrana in 2004 and it was there he had the most successful time of his career. Eto’o scored 108 goals in 144 matches for Barcelona, winning three La Liga titles, two champions leagues, one Copa Del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups.
After spending five years in Barcelona, Eto’o joined Inter Milan in 2009. He won the treble with the Nerazzurri in 2010, thereby becoming the first player to win a treble with two different clubs in consecutive years.
He left Inter in 2013 for Russian club side Anzhi Makhachkala before joining Chelsea in 2014. He also had stints with Everton, Sampdoria, Antalyaspor and Konyaspor.
On the international scene, Eto’o 118 caps for Cameroon, scoring 56 goals. He won two Nations Cup titles with the Indomitable Lions and represented the team at three nations cup.
Following 22 glorious years, the Cameroonian has now decided to hang up his boots. He made the announcement on his Instagram page saying: ‘The End. Towards a new challenge. Thank you all, big love.
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The 38-year-old also won four African Player of the Year awards, a record he shares with Ivory Coast’s Yaya Toure.
