Samuel Eto'o is convinced that he is the best African footballer of all time and is now targeting more success as a coach, the Cameroon great told AFP in an exclusive interview.
The 38-year-old is pondering his next step after hanging up his boots in early September, bringing the curtain down on his playing days with a brief spell turning out for Qatar Sports Club.
"There comes a point where you have to look for other challenges. That is what I have chosen to do. I have had a wonderful career," Eto'o told AFP during a visit to Paris.
His career spanned more than 20 years in which he won 18 major trophies, including two Champions Leagues with Barcelona and another with Inter Milan. He also won the Africa Cup of Nations twice with Cameroon as well as Olympic gold in 2000.
One prize that did get away from him, however, was the Ballon d'Or. Liberia's George Weah, in 1995, remains the only African to have claimed that award, but that does not change Eto'o's belief that he is the best player to have come out of the continent.
"I don't need to lay claim to anything, it's just a fact. Whether you accept it or not, it's a fact," he said, as frank and outspoken as ever.
"Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You know, as an African, you are always being judged. What is unacceptable is that the first people to do it are always the Africans. They can't take anything away from me because I am proud to be African.
"When I look at where I came from and how far I got, I tell myself that I am entitled to be proud. That doesn't mean I am big-headed, far from it. It is just that, in this world, people like puppets and I don't accept being one."
- 'Could have won World Cup' - ==============================
"I wasn't a starter in that magnificent team but in the end I worked my way into the side and contributed. It is a beautiful memory."
"It wasn't to be. That is the only trophy I didn't manage to win but I had some unforgettable moments with that team."
- Coach in Europe -
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"I want to learn, have all the qualifications, understand how things work either in my own businesses or in my future career, in order to come back in 12 or 24 months and start a new career, which I hope will be just as beautiful."
But having won the Champions League playing for both Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, whose style is he more likely to be replicate?
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