Ronaldinho lives in a stunning hillside mansion with an infinity pool offering views over the Mediterranean to the south of Barcelona. His property is uncluttered, save for computer consoles.

Samuel Eto’o is very different. The Cameroonian lives in a relatively small apartment in the densely-populated residential district of Pedralbes with his wife, three children and extended family. The match ball from the 2006 Champions League Final jostles for space with a lifesize gold bust of Eto’o from Unicef, a child’s table football, three African Player of the Year trophies, a mock diamond-studded iPod nano, banks of football and film DVDs, piles of football magazines from around the globe, a picture of Eto’o with French president Jaques Chirac and a TV the size of Equatorial Guinea clad in what appears to be crocodile skin.

The lithe Eto’o emerges from a bedroom wearing an orange D&G vest and cream shorts. A woman screams in French on the TV. She is being strangled. Reality merges with art as Eto’o’s youngest cries in another room, while
a man snores in a corner seat.

The African art on the wall indicates that he’s still in touch with his roots. When he joined Barça in 2004, he announced: “I will run like a black man to live like a white man.” For millions of Africans he’s the Muhammad Ali of the 21st Century, with visits home to Cameroon taking on the pomp of a
state occasion. He’s more than a footballer, he’s the continent’s standard bearer.

If he hadn’t played the game, Eto’o says he’d be a lawyer. He has the intelligence and sincerity, if not the cautiousness. If Eto’o has something to say, he says it. His outspokenness gets him into trouble, and on occasions he can sound like Eric Cantona. But, when you’re the best number 9 in the world, people listen.

It is two days after Barça snatched a 3-3 draw against Real Madrid in the Nou Camp, a game in which Eto’o played just 45 minutes thanks to Oleguer’s sending off. Without Eto’o for five months this season, after he injured his knee against Werder Bremen in September, Barça have struggled to rise above mediocrity. No matter how much he disagrees, it’s no coincidence. Eto’o shapes Barça’s attack, providing space and runs for team-mates to make key passes. If Ronaldinho makes Barça dance, Eto’o, the killer, makes them fire, scoring vital goals.

“Sit down,” he says, pointing to a hefty beige sofa that matches the rest of the room, “let’s talk.”

We’ve been in other footballers’ houses and there’s no evidence of their profession. It’s not like that here...
[Pointing to DVDs] I don’t go out often. I devour football. I ask my brother to prepare hundreds of videos on precise aspects of Barça’s attacking game because I want to know everything my team-mates are thinking. It’s my unseen training. Off the pitch, I digest information and different aspects of my team-mates’ play. You can see patterns developing, you see that players often do the same thing: for example, Messi always wants the ball inside because he never goes outside, Giuly is the opposite.

I know where the players like to pass – I don’t just run anywhere. I anticipate, I don’t guess. I don’t know where the ball will go, but I know where it will go if you understand. I have a gift, but I cultivate it. I imagine where the ball will be and force myself to be where it is. Now and again the game dictates, but usually it’s the players.

You say you have an instinct for scoring. Is that innate?
I’ve always scored goals, but I’ve worked on timing. Work, work, work. You get results if you work. In training I demand to be put in difficult situations, to receive difficult balls. Scoring is only easy when the ball is in the net. I shoot a lot in training. Out of every 100 stones that you throw you never know which one will kill the bird.

My job is to score goals. Every time I feel I have a chance, I try it. If not, I pass. But the priority is to score. When I attack, I only have goal in my head. My universe is the goal with a keeper in it. That and the box.

You’re at home in the box?
Yes. I know that place. I don’t panic there. I’m cold-blooded. It is fundamental to be able to shove out of your mind the thousands of things that can pollute your spirit in that moment.

Do you have a technique?
I look at the goalkeeper. He might make a small mistake. When I get the ball I think ‘goal’. I already know that I am going to control it. Everything is about the goal. I position myself so that I score. And when I don’t have the ball I run after it.

Not many people know that when you were younger, you played as a midfielder or as number ‘10’, but not as a ‘9’...
The great forwards have never had my education. I know what it is to defend because I played several positions which demanded sacrifice for the team. I try never just to be the guy who scores goals. I want to fight up front, in the middle or at the back. He who fights for every ball is he who doesn’t have a number on his back.

I was frail when I was younger – that taught me to dodge people. Above all
I discovered that speed is essential in football, and it wasn’t only to escape the big guys who were running after me! Everyone in the family is like me – thin and straight-backed. It is only my mother who is an African mother: imposing, striking, beautiful. And she has had six children. When she is there you know she is there.

How important is it for you to have your family in Barcelona?
It is not as important for them to be in Barcelona as it is to feel the support from the family, no matter where they are. The continent is a mental state. I live in Europe, but I sleep in Africa. Every goal of mine is a celebration of there. Hopefully I’ll have time to do more things for the people in Africa when I’ve stopped playing.

What are your most African traits?
My happiness. My desire to play football. My enthusiasm to play football, but I’ve changed. In Africa I played for pleasure. In Europe I play to win.

What was your biggest fault as a kid?
My heading was weak so my coach painted white circles onto a grey wall. I had to touch them with my head. I didn’t realise why I was missing headers, but then I understood. I became more precise because I could evaluate the distance between me and the goal. I often remember this grey wall which has allowed me to score so many important goals. There are a lot of good headers of the ball, but they are not as precise.

What type of player were you as a kid?
A gifted player technically who was not afraid of anything. I always tried the
impossible with the ball. I only dribble when it’s necessary now. I’ve managed to get rid of the extra stuff, which is not easy for an African who adores everything that is beautiful about the game. On the other hand, when I play for the national team, I have a tendency to go back to my roots. The national team manager uses me in a different way to Barça, where I am at the point of the team. At Cameroon I play behind the main striker or beside him and I become Cameroonian again. Dribbling, trying a nutmeg and making passes.

Are you ever tempted to play that way in Barcelona?
No. It’s very simple at Barcelona. I don’t have a desire to organise a game like Xavi or Deco, or to dribble like Ronaldinho, who is a genius. My strength is to keep my position. I always try to play for the team, whichever team it is. I am disciplined and I get upset when the others aren’t.

You must have been even more upset when you were out injured this season. How tough was that?
It was very difficult. I don’t think anybody chooses when they get injured. I was playing well and Barça were doing well. Life was like a dream – then I was injured.
Why did you still go to most Barça games when you were injured?
Because I liked to be close to my colleagues and the closest I could get was in the stands. It was difficult because there are a lot of nerves inside a stadium and I wanted to be on the pitch helping my colleagues. But it’s even worse on TV. That’s why I went.

Were some games more difficult to watch than others?
The big games and the ones in which Barça were not winning. Against Chelsea in the Nou Camp, for example. I was desperate to be on the pitch to make sure that Barça won. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t...

Was that because it was Chelsea – a team you’ve said you dislike?
I’ve never said that about Chelsea. The papers that printed that were telling lies. They were trying to create a controversy which didn’t exist. Chelsea is a big club with a great team. I respect Chelsea.

Would you like to play for them?
I’m happy here in Barcelona.

Do you think that your absence from Barcelona proved how important you
are to them?
I don’t think my absence demonstrated anything. We all need each other and we all play for each other. That’s our mentality. We’re out of Europe but we’re still leading the Spanish league so we must be doing something right.

But Barça were not the same team without you...
That’s your opinion.

Barça won far fewer games without you. Speak to the 80,000 people who watch the team play, who pay your wages. All of them will tell you that Barça is not the same without you...
[Shrugs] Their opinion.

Is there a small part of you that’s satisfied at that? Do you feel you were taken for granted before?
Who didn’t value me? Who said that? Everyone is free to think what they want but I’ve never not felt that I’m taken for granted, not by my team mates and the coach. Not by the people in the street. Not by the people in Cameroon.

Nevertheless do you think that if you weren’t African, people in Spain would give you more respect?
No, I don’t think about that.

How did you feel in Zaragoza last season when you suffered so much racism from the crowd that you started to walk off?
That showed how I felt. I did not ignore it. Some players do. I was angry then, but that is in the past. I prefer that people know me for my actions on the pitch. Politicians should speak about racism, not sports people. Sometimes I’m guilty of being too sincere, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I swallow and get on with it.

But you’ve suffered racism in other areas of your life. For example, when you tried to buy something in a luxury shop in Paris last year...
The woman refused to accept my credit card because she thought it was stolen. When the manager came, he recognised me. When they see that you’re a football player, they don’t see the black man, but the money.

Did he recognise you because you’re the best player in the world?
Me?! Thanks a lot, but the best player in the world just now is Cannavaro.

Why?
Because they gave him the prize of being the best footballer in the world.

But you’ve not always shown faith in that award. You once said that if your name was Eto’odinho, you’d have won it...
That was a long time ago. I don’t have a problem with Ronaldinho.

There appeared to be a problem a couple of months ago... [Eto’o and Ronaldinho fell out after the Cameroonian refused to come on as a sub against Racing Santander]
There wasn’t.

There was certainly a lot of controversy around the game against Racing. Why didn’t you play that night?
When you’ve just come back from injury, you should warm-up for longer. I hadn’t warmed up long enough and I wasn’t prepared to risk my knee because I could have come out of the situation badly. Then afterwards came something between me and the mister [Rijkaard], but there was not any problem. I gave my opinion and not everyone liked it, but it’s in the past.

But for two days there was a big controversy. You were seen as being critical of Ronaldinho...
There wasn’t a controversy between us. There were some misunderstandings, but as soon as we spoke these were cleared.

Would you say that you are an instinctive person?
Off the pitch, yes, I’m someone who speaks and expresses himself, even though that may not always be desirable. On the pitch, my instinct helps me to score goals, to anticipate things – and this is desirable.

Did you come back from injury too soon?
No, and the club didn’t put any pressure on me. I am not 100 percent, but when you have been absent for five months, you’re not exactly the same when you return. I cannot say when I will be 100 percent because that depends on my knee and my knee doesn’t speak. My game will improve. Slowly I will get there.

What’s gone wrong at Barça? Is the club divided into two camps as you suggested?
You’ll have to ask the people within the club. There is always politics off the field, but I just play and do my best.
Do you have the same level of hunger to succeed?
Yes.

Does everyone?
Yes.

How do you feel when you see rumours in the press that Barça are trying to get rid of you?
The press is never right.

OK, so you’re happy at Barça for now. But what about in the future?
I don’t think about it. I have a contract here until 2010 and I’m happy with that. I can’t see myself leaving...

Why?
The weather. The people. The people treat me very well. It’s not in my thoughts at the moment to leave. The players are grown up and experienced. There are times when we don’t always agree, but the spirit is good.
I have only ever played competitively in Spain and I like it here, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. When you are a player who makes headlines or if you score a lot of goals there’s always speculation. But it’s just speculation.

You were linked to Liverpool recently.
By who?

The English newspapers.
And what was their source?

A radio interview with a Spanish agent...
But not my agent, not me. It’s not true. The newspapers are full of lies. No matter how many times I repeat that I am happy in Barcelona, some people don’t believe me.

What do you think of Liverpool?
I like their courage. They have a big red heart. They showed that against us.

Were you surprised to lose to them in the Champions League? Did Frank Rijkaard underestimate them?
No. You have to recognise that in the two games, Liverpool played extremely well. They defend well, they are organised.

Which Liverpool players do you like?
Gerrard. He runs a lot. He does everything well. Gerrard is the best English player. No, change that. At the moment he’s the best player in England.

Does playing in the Premiership appeal to you? You’d certainly be popular...
I watch English football. I like the crowd because it’s close to the pitch and the stadiums are always full. It’s not always like that in Spain. We played at Anfield and it was very loud, with lots of different songs. I like that. Football is different in England. It has a place in English hearts. But as for moving, look at who I play for, look at where I live and my lifestyle, look at what I’ve won. Would you move? I’m very happy here.

Does this season’s Champions League prove that English football is now better than Spanish?
If you mean the teams in the quarter-final, I’d have to say yes, but that changes every year. Spanish teams have done better than English teams in recent years, right? It’s hard for me to compare the two leagues because I’ve never played in England.

You recently said that you don’t envy the lifestyle of David Beckham...
I don’t and I’ll say it again. I’m very happy with who I am. He is more handsome, but I am the better player.

Your friend Albert Luque has struggled at Newcastle in England. Why do you
think that is? Have you discussed English football with him?
He’s my best friend, but we don’t speak about football. He’s a great player and a good person, but he has suffered in England. Managers are managers; they make decisions which they think are right…

Describe your ideal strike partner?
I don’t have one. At Barça, I like them all. To choose one or even two is difficult.

Which three forwards do you like in world football?
Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry and Thierry Henry. He’s a great player. He’s number one of the great players. Great players score goals, they make a difference. For me he is above everybody.

You’re 26 now. Will you keep playing as long as possible, or quit at the top?
I don’t know, I have no plans.

What about Henrik Larsson who’s still playing at 35?
The chats that I had with Henrik at Barça were very precious. It was him who gave the team the possibility to play, with his movement, the way he opened up spaces. Him coming on in the Champions League Final was decisive, he allowed me to excel.

Henrik taught me how to become invisible, how to make others forget about me. He taught me how to disappear in the eyes of defenders, but to remain running and available. All that comes from training, nowhere else. It’s like Zidane’s turn or Ronaldinho’s free-kicks – they practise and practise until it works. Ronnie doesn’t try anything in a match that he hasn’t tried a thousand times in training; the only difference is that you are doing it in front of 80,000. Nothing in a match is by chance. Everything is done in training. Then your talent and the gift you have help you to succeed in what you’ve worked on.