Eto’o says African stars robbed in FIFA Best Player award

Samuel Eto'o

Tuesday Sep 24, 2019. 09:00

Samuel Eto’o says there were two African stars who deserved to win the Best Men’s Player prize more than Argentine star Lionel Messi at the FIFA Awards.

The ex-Cameroon international, who recently announced his retirement, believes Egypt star Mo Salah or Senegal forward Sadio Mane would have been more worthy winners.

“The best one for me is Mohammed Salah or Sadio Mane. But they’re not here,” Eto’o said in a terse interview before walking away from the camera.

Messi pipped Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk to the top prize in a victory that was a surprise for many, despite the Barcelona star’s obvious quality.

Only one African player has ever taken home the trophy when Liberian George Weah was the best player in 1995.