'He played with me' - Samuel Eto'o shuts down reporter when asked what it was like to play with Lionel Messi

ByTNT Sports

Published 26/07/2021 at 11:41 GMT+1

"He played with me – it is different. Messi played with me. I did not play with Messi. In my time, Messi played with me. It is totally different. It is totally different.” Samuel Eto'o spent five years playing with Lionel Messi and they enjoyed tremendous success together at Barcelona, winning a host of trophies

Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi

Image credit: Getty Images

Samuel Eto’o raised eyebrows with his bizarre response when asked what it was like to play with Lionel Messi.

Eto’o enjoyed a glittering spell at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009, winning La Liga three times and the Champions League on two occasions.

Messi made his early steps on the road to superstardom at Barca in 2003, making his first-team debut in a friendly in November, but it was in the 2004/05 campaign that he made the breakthrough in La Liga.

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The Argentina great quickly made the attacking role on the right his own, with Ronaldinho deployed on the left and Eto’o through the middle.

Eto’o was asked to give his thoughts on rising star Ansu Fati and what it must be like for the teenager to play with Messi, but the Cameroonian stopped the reporter in his tracks.

The reporter asked: “You talk about Messi, what can he [Ansu Fati] learn from Messi? You obviously played with him.”

In response, Eto’o said: “No. He played with me – it is different. Messi played with me. I did not play with Messi. In my time, Messi played with me. It is totally different. It is totally different.”

It’s not immediately clear whether Eto’o’s response was tongue in cheek or not, as he has repeatedly talked about Messi in glowing terms.