"I think he deserved a Ballon d'Or but these are things out of our control."
Jose Mourinho once revealed the player who "deserved" to win a Ballon d'Or but never did, despite being "one of the best strikers in the world for many years".
The self-proclaimed 'Special One' has achieved great things with some of the world's best players. From his spell with Real Madrid, when he coached Cristiano Ronaldo in his prime, to those trophy-laden years with Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba at Chelsea.
But in his own words, Mourinho's "biggest success" was his Champions League triumph with treble-winners Inter Milan, who lifted European football's biggest prize with the likes of Diego Milito, Javier Zanetti and Wesley Sneijder.
Sneijder would later come fourth in the 2010 Ballon d'Or standings - a decision he has since described as "unfair" following his efforts with Milan - while Inter striker Samuel Eto'o came 12th with just 1.37% of the vote.
Eto'o never came close to winning the prestigious trophy but Mourinho is convinced he should have won it during his career.
"It's difficult to understand how Samuel Eto'o never won the Ballon d'Or with the impressive career he had," he said in an interview with Cameroon Radio. "Samuel played for the best teams in the best leagues in the world. He scored an incredible amount of goals and was successful in different leagues.
"He played three Champions League finals, winning two with Barcelona and scoring in both finals. He also won one Champions League at Inter Milan and won many league titles."
Mourinho continued: "He was the best striker in the world for several years and I think he deserved a Ballon d'Or but these are things out of our control."
The Portuguese coach was full of praise for Eto'o, who announced his retirement in 2019 following spells at Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Everton, to name a few.
"Samuel's career was very impressive and he was one of the best strikers in the world for many years," Mourinho said.
"He's an absolutely fantastic player and the most important thing for a footballer is his contribution to his team for victories. Samuel was a great individual player but was always a team player.
"He was always giving everything he could for his team to be successful. He is a trophy winner. He won all the important competitions and he had a very phenomenal career.
"He was almost an unstoppable player but his qualities as a man at some point became more important. He was a good colleague and he could do all for his team to win games."
Mourinho added: "These are great human qualities and I have no doubts Eto'o will be successful after retirement."
Eto'o is currently the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation but was recently handed a six-month ban from attending any international matches involving the country by a FIFA disciplinary panel.
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