The former FC Barcelona striker and current President of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot), Samuel Eto'o, was completely open to sharing one of the many peculiar anecdotes he apparently experienced in the Barcelona team's locker room. On this occasion, the Duala native, in a conversation that took place on the 'The Bridge' podcast, with special guest host and Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni, accompanied by presenter Sébastien Abdelhamid, revealed an intriguing story about his time at Can Barça.
In a part of the lively conversation that lasted over an hour, Eto'o recounted an anecdote about the treatment a young talent from the Barcelona squad received, who did not respect the 'unwritten rules' of the club's locker room. "In our time, it was different. I'll give you the example of a 19-year-old kid playing his second game and coming to practice with a Ferrari," he began.
In this context, Samuel explained the dynamics of the Barcelona dressing room back then: "You are Ronaldinho, you are Eto'o... And today it's different. All the young players who come in have to understand 'I'll climb slowly'," highlighting the attitude of Leo Messi from his first day in the Barcelona first team before continuing his narrative.
The unexpected and incredible ending of Samuel Eto'o's anecdote
The story took an unexpected turn when Eto'o narrated how they made the young player realize his lack of respect in a forceful manner. "The kid came with his Ferrari 360 Modena and we scratched the car with only 20 kilometers on the odometer, we had a different mindset," he said. Furthermore, 'The Indomitable Lion' emphasizes that "the kid didn't get it" what for several members of the Barcelona squad was a "lack of respect".
To conclude, the Cameroonian concluded his anecdote with a reflection on the attitude that young talents emerging in world football must adopt if they aspire to become elite footballers. "It was also a lesson for the kid. When you arrive at a club like Barcelona, like Inter Milan, at the tips of the studs are the roots. All the young players who come in must understand: I will rise slowly," ending his intervention with the message they conveyed to the young player when he showed up with a 'Prancing Horse': "Welcome, but you don't leave with your car."