“He was not at the level of…

By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist

Fast, powerful, complete, hard-working striker, and above all who won everything, Thierry Henry has well deserved his place in the pantheon of offensive players in the history of football. But contrary to the compliments that are usually given to him, the Frenchman suffered a strong attack some time ago from a former partner, and not the least: Samuel Eto'o.

While more and more observers complain that football is becoming too sanitized for their tastes, Samuel Eto'o is living proof that some personalities continue to fail to conform to the mold. Always very outspoken, which he notably demonstrated during a cult interview where he prided himself on having “reminded Guardiola that he was never a great player”, the Cameroonian does not fear nothing and no one.

To make matters worse, Eto'o has very high self-esteem, which he has never hidden. So much so that the former Inter Milan and Chelsea player is one of the rare people on earth not to be in any way impressed by Thierry Henry, with whom he played for FC Barcelona at the end from the 2000s.

Samuel Eto'o not impressed at all by Thierry Henry

In a documentary published in 2022, Eto'o delivered his opinion in “rough form” mode on the native of Les Ulis:

I think he wasn't at Anelka's level. Titi was good, eh, but I preferred other players. And in any case, he wasn't at my level.

Icy, and particularly irreverent towards Henry? Certainly. But if we take up the words of “Titi” after the summer of 2008, we realize that the Frenchman himself seems to think that his Cameroonian sidekick is a better pure 9:

We have to recognize that we have the best center forward with Samuel. Fortunately he didn't leave last summer… He's a better central player than me. For my part, I will do whatever it takes to have my place on the team.

History does not say whether Henry thinks he is a better player on the left side (even if he strongly seems to think so). What is certain is that Eto'o has always preferred Anelka, on and off the pitch. The proof via an anecdote told by the latter upon his arrival at Real Madrid:

It's very difficult in the locker room. At the beginning, I don't even have a designated place… I wait for all the players to arrive. They all tell me: “That’s my place”. I have to wait for someone to give me one. There I say to myself: “What am I doing here? » The first day, Samuel Eto'o comes to see me and tells me to pay attention to the elders because they went to see the president to ask him why they took me when there is Fernando Morientes.

When someone tells me that, I know it’s going to be very complicated. The sequel proved that it was hell. At that time it was complicated with a lot of Spaniards. I arrive in a family, in a big club with a lot of pressure. I had to prove it on the ground.

If the French are rather used to hearing praise of all kinds about Thierry Henry, who is generally considered to be the third best French player in history, Samuel Eto'o took the opposite view. Ever so outspoken, he felt that his former partner was simply not worthy of sitting at his table. It's said!