One of the ironies of Samuel Eto’o playing for FC Barcelona is that he initially joined arch-rival Real Madrid, who immediately loaned him out; from first to second CD Leganés; then to Espanyol in the first division after playing only one league game with Madrid; and finally to Mallorca. He did so well at the latter club that he was signed for a club record and he became the club’s all-time top scorer with a total of 54 goals between 2000 and 2004.

The Cameroonian striker signed for FC Barcelona following a series of negotiations between Barcelona, ​​Mallorca and Real Madrid who had retained an option on him. On the one hand, Madrid did not need him in the team since they had two strikers like Ronaldo and Raúl; instead they did not want him to play for Barcelona, ​​​​a club that was looking for a quality striker to cement the attack after failing to reach an agreement with midfielder Edgar Davids, who had spent the second part of the 2003-2004 season on loan to Catalan club.

With Eto’o as striker and Ronaldinho as attacking midfielder, Samuel Eto’o quickly proved value for money and scored a total of 24 league goals in the 2004-2005 season. Although he helped FC Barcelona clinch the league title, he narrowly missed out on the title of top scorer in LaLiga.

However, in the celebrations that followed at the Camp Nou he made a speech openly criticizing Real Madrid, apparently venting the bitterness he felt at being passed over by the club in favor of being loaned out. He later had to retract his statement and issue an apology.

The following year Samuel Eto’o was able to improve his league scoreboard and with a total of 26 goals he narrowly won the “Pichichi” crown, just one goal ahead of David Villa from Valencia. His strong performance on the pitch saw him also score six goals in the Champions League, which helped propel Barcelona to the final against Arsenal. He was heavily involved in the result as first the Arsenal goalkeeper was sent off for a foul against Eto’o in the first 20 minutes; Failing to capitalize on a one-man lead, Eto’o equalized in the 76th minute with a pass from Larsson and Belletti scored the winner a few minutes later.

Building on a good season, Samuel Eto’o was awarded the title of UEFA Champions League Best Forward and Best African Player for the third consecutive year.