Samuel Eto’o, the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) revealed the real reasons behind Joël Matip’s decision to no longer wear the colors of Cameroon.
FECAFOOT continues to work for the return of Liverpool defender Joël Matip to the lair of the Indomitable Lions. Joël Matip has not played for Cameroon since 2015. But the recent election of Samuel Eto’o as FECAFOOT president has led to reports that the defender could be persuaded out of international exile. The Liverpool defender had cited issues of mismanagement and bad experiences at the Indomitable Lions den. And yet, Samuel Eto’o claims to have done everything to put Joël Matip at ease.
“When Joël Matip and Choupo-Moting came to the selection, I did everything to make them feel good… 12 years later, they say that if Matip refuses to come to the selection, it’s because he is not in good term with Samuel Eto’o. I went to Liverpool with his father to meet him a year ago to come back to the national team. He is not coming back because there was a group of players who did everything so that he did not come with their managers. Because these players had to play for them to be sold,” said Eto’o in an interview with RFI.
In early April, Cameroonian legend Roger Milla claimed that the staff would pick up Joel Matip for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Now it remains to be seen whether the player will accept or not.