The noose tightens for Eto’o. According to a report published on Monday, the president of the Cameroonian football federation owes nearly million euros to the Spanish tax authorities, his name appearing on the list of “debtors” to the public finances.
According to this document, “Eto’o Fils Samuel” owes 981,598.19 euros to the Spanish Treasury. The 40-year-old former Indomitable Lions scorer, who notably played from 2004 to 2009 at FC Barcelona, was elected on December 11 at the head of the Cameroonian football federation.
Thousands of individuals and businesses affected
In November 2016, the Spanish public prosecutor’s office had requested against the Cameroonian penalties representing a total of ten years in prison and a fine of 18 million euros, accusing the player of not having paid 3.9 million euros drawn of his image rights during his period at FC Barcelona. The tax authorities were not authorized to give more information, in particular on the origin of the debt, and could not say if Samuel Eto’o appeared for the first time on this list, whose criteria have just changed.
Entitled “list of debtors”, the document brings together thousands of individuals and companies with a “debt greater than 600,000 euros” with the Spanish tax authorities, a threshold revised downwards compared to the old limit of one million. The list therefore has more names, with a total of over 7,200 in 2021 compared to around 3,400 in 2020.