Samuel Eto’o Versus Didier Drogba: Comparing Champions League Stats of African Football Legends

• Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba are icons of African football
• The two stars graced European football and won many trophies
• Both players won the Champions League in their playing days

Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba are the most decorated African footballer ever.

The two retired strikers played for the biggest clubs in Europe and won everything they could get their hands on.

Eto'o and Drogba won four Champions League crowns at Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Chelsea.

The two icons contributed immensely to their clubs' success domestically and in Europe.

The Cameroonian is a legend at Barcelona and Inter Milan, while Drogba remains one of Chelsea's icons.

Eto'o won the Champions League at Barcelona in 2006, 2009, and Inter Milan in 2010. He is the only player to win back-to-back trebles.

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The Ivory Coast legend helped Chelsea overcome the impossible in 2012 to win their first-ever Champions League title.

Ahead of the 2024 UEFA Champions League final, which will pit Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund, Sports Brief looks at the numbers of the two African legends.

Eto'o Champions League numbers

The 43-year-old made his UCL debut on September 21, 1999, at Real Madrid under John Toshack. He came on in the 73rd minute for Savio against Molde, a match they won 4-1. The Cameroonian was 18 years old when he made his debut.

Eto'o never made it at Real Madrid. He played three Champions League matches at the club without scoring, but good things awaited him.

He scored his first goal in the competition in 2001 during Mallorca's match against Schalke.

His transfer to Barcelona in 2004 changed everything. He scored many goals, won plenty of trophies, and played with icons such as Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

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In his first season with the Catalans, Eto'o scored 29 goals in 45 appearances, including 25 in La Liga.

He also bagged four in the Champions League. Barcelona were eliminated from the competition by Chelsea in the last 16.

In the 2005/06 season, he scored six goals in 11 UCL matches to help Barcelona win their fifth European Cup. He scored in the final, helping Barcelona win 2-1 over Arsenal.

In his last season at Camp Nou, Eto'o scored four Champions League goals, including in the final against Manchester United, which they won 2-0. That season, he won his first treble.

He joined Inter Milan the following season, which was magical under Jose Mourinho. In that campaign, he scored two goals in the competitions. The Italian side played a bruising semi-final tie against Barcelona, winning 3-2 on aggregate.

Eto'o and Inter beat Bayern Munich in the final to secure the treble. The Cameroonian bagged 33 Champions League goals in 82 matches.

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Drogba's Champions League stats

The Ivory Coast legend was a late bloomer. He didn't play top-flight football until the age of 23, but he left an indelible mark at Chelsea.

The 46-year-old made his Champions League debut on September 16 2003, at Olympic Marseille. He played 66 minutes and scored against Real Madrid in a 4-2 defeat. In the 2003/04 season, Drogba scored five goals in the competition for the French side.

Mourinho brought Drogba to Chelsea in 2004. Together, they ushered in an era of success at the club and ended the hegemony of Arsenal and Manchester United in England.

In 2004/05, Chelsea won the Premier League title with 95 points, a record then and conceded 15 goals, a record that still stands today.

In the Champions League, they reached the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by eventual winners, Liverpool.

Chelsea eliminated Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the knockout stages. Drogba scored five goals in nine matches in the competition.

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Drogba was sent off in the final of the 2008 Champions League for violent conduct against Man United. They lost the game on penalties.

It wasn't long before Chelsea won the competition. Although the 2011/12 season was poor for Chelsea in the league, that was irrelevant since they won the Champions League.

Drogba scored 21 goals in 46 matches for Chelsea, including in the final against Bayern Munich. He also scored the winning penalty in the 2012 final to help Chelsea win their first Champions League crown.

He retired with 44 goals in the competition in 92 matches. He bagged 36 for Chelsea, five for Marseille and three for Galatasaray. Here's a summary of Eto'o and Drogba's Champions League stats.

Eto'o vs Osimhen at 25

Sports Brief previously compared Eto'o and Victor Osimhen's numbers at 25.

At 25, the Cameroonian played more games and scored more goals than Osimhen, who had a Serie A title at the same age.