Jose Mourinho once spoke about a player he believed “deserved” to win the Ballon d’Or but never did, despite being “one of the world’s best strikers for many years.”
- What Reece James did to Kai Havertz that Chelsea fans will love
- Opta Supercomputer predicts Premier League winner & top four
- Man Utd keen on signing Chelsea star as Ruben Amorim’s first January transfer
Known as the ‘Special One,’ Mourinho has worked with some of the top talents in football, achieving major successes.
He coached Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid during his peak years and enjoyed a trophy-filled era with stars like Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba at Chelsea. ..Continue Reading
However, Mourinho has called his Champions League victory with Inter Milan his “biggest success.” That team, which won the treble, featured standout players like Diego Milito, Javier Zanetti, and Wesley Sneijder.
In 2010, Sneijder finished fourth in the Ballon d’Or voting—a result he later called “unfair” after his exceptional season with Inter. Samuel Eto’o, Inter’s striker, came 12th with only 1.37% of the vote.
Though Eto’o was never a close contender for the Ballon d’Or, Mourinho believes he was fully deserving of the award during his career.
“It’s difficult to understand how Samuel Eto’o never won the Ballon d’Or with the impressive career he had,” he said in an interview with Cameroon Radio. “Samuel played for the best teams in the best leagues in the world. He scored an incredible amount of goals and was successful in different leagues.
“He played three Champions League finals, winning two with Barcelona and scoring in both finals. He also won one Champions League at Inter Milan and won many league titles.”
Mourinho added: “He was the best striker in the world for several years and I think he deserved a Ballon d’Or but these are things out of our control.”
The Portuguese coach was full of praise for Eto’o, who announced his retirement in 2019 after spells at Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea & Everton, to name a few.
“Samuel’s career was very impressive and he was one of the best strikers in the world for many years,” Mourinho said.
“He’s an absolutely fantastic player and the most important thing for a footballer is his contribution to his team for victories. Samuel was a great individual player but was always a team player.
“He was always giving everything he could for his team to be successful. He is a trophy winner. He won all the important competitions and he had a very phenomenal career.
“He was almost an unstoppable player but his qualities as a man at some point became more important. He was a good colleague and he could do all for his team to win games.”
Mourinho added: “These are great human qualities and I have no doubts Eto’o will be successful after retirement.”
Eto’o is now the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation but was recently handed a six-month ban from attending any international games involving the country by a FIFA disciplinary panel.
