Eto'o reportedly blocks Cameroon's star from AFCON 2025 to guard a historic scoring record

What happened

Cameroon's football legend Samuel Eto'o, now the federation president, is reportedly behind a move that excludes Vincent Aboubakar from the Cameroon squad for the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 in Morocco, aimed at preventing Aboubakar from nearing Eto'o's all time scoring record.

According to a British tabloid, Eto'o who recently won another term as federation president influenced the controversial decision to sideline the 33 year old forward who plays for Neftchi Baku in Azerbaijan.

The Sun says Eto'o fears Aboubakar could close the gap on his national record of 56 goals in 118 appearances if he features in the tournament in Morocco later this month.

Aboubakar is described as a key player for Cameroon's attack and the all time AFCON goals record top scorer with 18 goals.

The Sun also notes Eto'o reportedly dismissed coach Marc Brys last week and appointed David Pajot, citing alleged disobedience and incitement of players against the federation.

The Sun allegedly contacted Cameroon's football federation for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

This off field turmoil has clouded Cameroon's AFCON prep ahead of the tournament in Morocco.

Even though the federation dismissed him, Brys says he remains in charge and notes the Sports Ministry did not issue an official order. He even submitted his own AFCON squad to the ministry including Aboubakar, challenging the federation's list.

With the deadline to submit the official squad to CAF fast approaching, Cameroon must resolve the dispute before the tournament starts.

AFCON 2025 runs in Morocco from December 21 to January 18, with Cameroon placed in Group F alongside Ivory Coast, Gabon, and Mozambique.

Punchline 1: In football drama the points may matter, but the plot twists matter more, apparently.

Punchline 2: If Eto'o ever runs out of records to guard, he can always guard his coffee budget in the locker room instead.