Here are some key facts about Eto'o : Early Life *Born 10 March, 1980 in Douala, Cameroon. *Began his playing career in Cameroon with Kadji Sports Academy in 1992 Playing career * Joined Real Madrid as a 16-year old player in 1997, but he made just three appearances as there were many stars in his position. He was loaned out to Leganes, Espanyol and Mallorca respectively before joining the latter on a permanent basis in the year 2000. * Moved permanently to Mallorca in 2000 where he scored 48 goals in 120 appearances through four years. * Joined Barcelona in 2004 where he remained until 2009. He scored 108 goals in 144 appearances with the Spanish giants. * In 2009, he moved to Italy to join Inter Milan where remained until 2011; netting 33 goals in 67 appearances. * Moved in 2011 to Russia to join Anzhi Makhachkala. He scored 25 goals in 53 appearances with the Russian side. * Signed a one-year contract with Chelsea in 2013. He scored nine goals in 21 appearances with the Premier League side. * Moved for a short spell with Everton in 2014 where he played just 14 matches, netting three goals. * Back to Italy, he joined Sampdoria in 2015; netting just two goals in 18 appearances. He left for Turkey after just six months. * On 25 June 2015, Eto'o joined Antalyaspor on a three-year contract. He scored 44 goal in 76 appearnces. * On 31 January 2018, he joined Turkish league rivals Konyaspor on a two-and-a-half-year contract. He scored just six goals in 13 appearances. * Qatar SC was the last club in his football career joining them in August 2018. He scored six goals in 17 appearances with the Qatari club. International career * He made his debut with Cameroon on 9 March 1997, one day before his 16th birthday, in a 5–0 friendly loss to Costa Rica. * Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics. * He won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002. * He featured in four World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations. * He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with 18 goals. * He is Cameroon's all-time leading scorer and third most capped player, with 56 goals in 118 caps. Individual awards * Young African Player of the Year: 2000 * African Player of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010 * ESM Team of the Year: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11 * FIFA World Player of the Year Bronze Award: 2005 * FIFA FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006 * UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006 * CAF Team of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 * UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2005–06 * African Cup of Nations top goalscorer: 2006, 2008 * UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 2006 * FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2010 * Coppa Italia top goalscorer: 2010–11 * Russian Premier League MVP Award: 2012–13 * Golden Foot: 2015 * Globe Soccer Player Career Award: 2016 (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
