Samuel Eto'o accused of dropping Vincent Aboubakar from Cameroon’s AFCON squad for bizarre reason - Report

Rajarshi has been part of Khel Now since 2022, and he covers world football.

Published at :December 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM

Modified at :December 11, 2025 at 6:19 PM

Samuel Eto'o accused of dropping Vincent Aboubakar from Cameroon’s AFCON squad for bizarre reason - Report

Eto’o is currently the head of the Cameroon FA.

Samuel Eto’o, a former FC Barcelona forward, has been accused of attempting to keep Vincent Aboubakar out of Cameroon’s AFCON 2025 squad because the latter is getting close to the former’s all-time scoring record.

According to SunSport, the 44-year-old head of the Cameroonian Football Association is said to have had an impact on the unexpected decision to exclude national hero Aboubakar, who is just 11 goals away from equalling the nation’s top scorer.

Samuel Eto’o influenced the decision to remove Vincent Aboubakar from the Cameroon AFCON squad

With 56 goals in 118 games, Eto’o now holds the record, while unrelenting Aboubakar has 45 from 117 games.

According to sources, Eto’o, who was just re-elected to lead Fecafoot, fired coach Marc Brys last week, claiming things like “insubordination” and “inciting players” against the federation.

With on-loan Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana dropped from the national team roster by hastily promoted interim manager David Pagou, the move sent Cameroon into yet another round of chaos.

Insiders were not surprised by Onana’s absence because it is believed that the stopper and Eto’o had a tense relationship in the past.

However, supporters are shocked by the assertion that Aboubakar was excluded because of his increasing number of goals.

Chaos in the Cameroon national team

Fecafoot has been contacted by SunSport for comment, but they have not yet responded. Cameroon’s AFCON preparations are in jeopardy due to the off-field unrest.

Belgian coach Brys maintains that he is still in control despite being fired by the federation, claiming that the Sports Ministry, which hired him in the first place, has not officially fired him.

In direct opposition to the list released under Fecafoot, Brys has even sent the Ministry his own AFCON squad, which includes both Onana and Aboubakar.

Cameroon’s fortunes have already been negatively impacted by the fierce power struggle; the national team will not compete in the 2026 World Cup next year since Cape Verde finished ahead of them in group D of CAF qualifiers.

How many goals has Samuel Eto’o scored for Cameroon?

He has scored 56 goals for the national team.

How many goals does Vincent Aboubakar need to break Eto’o’s record?

He needs 11 goals to equal and 12 to break Eto’o’s record.

Which AFCON 2025 group are Cameroon in?

They are in Group F.

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Rajarshi Shukla

After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.