2024-02-11 16:16:09
A complaint has just been filed against Samuel Eto’o by his daughter Annie Barranca, 21, for alleged non-payment of alimony. This affair risks further tarnishing the image of the former captain of the Indomitable Lions, already tarnished by other scandals.
A little-known girl demanding recognition and financial support
Annie Barranca, 21, has just taken legal action in Italy for “non-compliance with family support obligations” on the part of her biological father Samuel Eto’o. Recognized since 2004 following a DNA test requested by a Spanish court, the young woman claims that her desperate attempts to contact the star remained in vain.
Worse, despite an agreement providing for the payment of alimony of €10,000 per month, Eto’o would have contributed nothing to providing for the needs of his daughter. Now a student, Annie Barranca still depends financially on her mother, who has difficulty providing her with decent living conditions.
A non-existent father-daughter relationship
Her complaint highlights that she also suffers psychologically from this total absence of a father figure in her life. Because even after being forced to acknowledge his paternity in 2004, Samuel Eto’o never behaved like a father to her.
Worse, any attempt on his part to reconnect has hit a wall. The former FC Barcelona and Chelsea striker is completely uninterested in his most basic family obligations.
New blow for Eto’o’s image
This complaint for unpaid alimony risks casting a new shadow on the already damaged reputation of Samuel Eto’o in Cameroon. Remember that the top scorer in the history of the Indomitable Lions is under investigation in Spain for suspicion of match-fixing when he was president of the Cameroonian Football Federation.
In addition, there is widespread criticism of his controversial management of Fécafoot, which is little appreciated by part of the Cameroonian public. Some see Eto’o as an authoritarian leader, more concerned with his interests than with the future of local football.
This complaint from his own daughter could reinforce the image of a man having forgotten his elementary duties for the benefit of fame and money. It also symbolizes the excesses of a Cameroonian society plagued by the abandonment of children and the denial of parental responsibilities.
We are far from the national icon adored by millions of Cameroonians during his years of footballing glory. The transition from hero status to pariah status is sometimes cruelly rapid. Especially when the pots and pans pile up…