When Samuel Eto’o Belittled Lionel Messi When Asked About Barcelona Wonderkid

• Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi spent five successful years together at Barcelona
• A few years ago, the Cameroon striker gave a bizarre answer when asked what it's like playing with Messi
• Messi and Eto'o won plenty of trophies at Barcelona between 2004 and 2009

Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi formed part of a potent strike force at Barcelona in the mid to late 2000s.

They scored plenty of goals and won many trophies together.

A few years ago, Eto'o appeared to mock Messi in an interview when asked about Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati.

The Cameroon legend spent five years playing with Lionel Messi at Barcelona, but the Argentine was only getting to his peak. The retired striker won La Liga three times and the Champions League on two occasions while at the club.

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Eto'o and Messi weren't the only world-class players at Barcelona. Ronaldinho was tearing up La Liga in that period. He played on the left, Messi was on the right, while the African icon played as a striker.

They were the most feared front three in European football at that time, and fans had not seen the best of Messi yet. Eto'o bagged 130 goals in five hugely successful seasons. Eto'o remains the only footballer to win back-to-back trebles with different clubs, per Transfermarkt.

What Eto'o said about Messi

A few years ago, Eto'o was asked about Ansu Fati and what it's like to play alongside Messi. He stopped the reporter and delivered a bizarre answer.

“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,” via Eurosport.

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It was unclear if he was joking or not because he always talked about Messi in glowing terms. Messi took over when Eto'o left in 2009.

The Argentine went on a legendary run in football. He broke records, won several Ballon d'Ors and even lifted the World Cup title last year.

He is arguably the greatest footballer ever.

How Mourinho convinced Eto'o to join Inter

Sports Brief earlier reported on how Jose Mourinho convinced Samuel Eto'o to leave Barcelona and join Inter Milan.

According to Eto'o, it took the Portuguese gaffer only a photo to persuade him to make that bold decision to move to the Italian league.

"He sent me a photo of Inter's No. 9 shirt and wrote to me saying: 'It's yours, it's waiting for you'.