Samuel Eto’o has launched a significant jab at his former Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry, claiming that even at his best, the legendary French striker was not as great as most people believed.
Henry is recognized as one of the greatest players in the Premier League history and was the major character in the crowning achievement of Arsenal’s 2003–04 season, which saw them go unbeaten the entire season.
The World Cup champion from France joined Barcelona in the summer of 2007, and after initially having trouble at Camp Nou, he became a crucial member of Pep Guardiola’s team, which dominated everyone in their path to the treble in 2009.
Before that historic triumph, Eto’o and Henry played together for two years. After that, Eto’o joined Inter, where he won another treble under Jose Mourinho.
The former Chelsea and Everton striker thinks that Henry was below him and that Nicolas Anelka, another former Blues center forward and Henry’s predecessor at Arsenal, was a better goalscorer.
He stated: ‘I think Thierry Henry was not at the level of Anelka.’
‘Titi was good, but I knew players. I preferred other players. In any case, he was not at my level. The luck or the bad luck that I had me, was not to play for France.’
‘Those who played in France had plus 70 per cent. It’s not because they were strong, but because France sells them better. They sold them to us and brought them up to our level.’
Eto’s critique follows Henry’s assertion that current Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, despite the Brazilian international’s promising start to his career in north London, will find it difficult to reach the 20-goal plateau this season.
Jesus has gone six games in all competitions without scoring after entering as a late replacement in Thursday’s loss at PSV Eindhoven.
When asked earlier this week if Jesus will surpass the 20-goal mark he set while he was at Arsenal, Henry responded: ‘Jesus is a guy who can put more pressure.’
‘Is he going to be a guy that’s going to score 25-30 goals? No. But what he does is contagious.’
‘Then you have the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, who can do wonders.’
Samuel Eto’o Fils
Samuel Eto’o Fils, a former player and current head of the Cameroonian Football Federation, was born on March 10, 1981.
Eto’o won the African Player of the Year award a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. In his prime, he was considered one of the best strikers in the world and one of the greatest African players of all time.
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry, a professional football coach, analyst, and former player from France, was born on August 17, 1977. He currently serves as an assistant coach for Belgium’s national team.
Henry was the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004, the runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 2003, and took third place for the award in 2006. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best players to play in the Premier League.
He received a record three FWA Footballer of the Year awards, two PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards, and six consecutive selections to the PFA Team of the Year.
Additionally, he made the UEFA Team of the Year five times and the FIFA FIFPro World XI once.
Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a former forward who now manages professional football in France.
He frequently scored at pivotal times while playing for his nation’s national team.
He has been hailed as a classy and speedy player with good aerial ability, technique, shooting, and movement off the ball, and was capable of playing both as a main striker and as a second striker. He is known for his ability to both score and assist goals.
Who had a better career between Samuel Eto’o and Henry
In terms of quality of clubs, goal per game ratio, and even number of trophies won, Samuel Eto’o was considerably superior to Thierry Henry in terms of career accomplishments.
While Henry played more games (794) he scored 360 goals. While Eto’o scored 370 goals and assisted 130 times in a total of 762 matches.
Eto’o scored a total of 56 goals in 118 matches for Cameroon, winning three trophies, whereas Henry scored a total of 51 goals in 123 matches for France, also winning three titles.
From this stats, you can see that Samuel Eto’o is a bit ahead of Henry despite playing for a less starred Cameroun, but the comparison between Henry and Nicolas Anelka can best be explained by Eto’o.
