"He has contributed a lot to Barca and it is a pain that he's had two serious injuries in two seasons," Stoichkov told DiarioSport. "When he left Real Mallorca and told Real Madrid he would only go to Barca I began to have good feelings about him!"

On Eto'o's teammate, Ronaldinho, Stoichkov was adamant: "Ronaldinho is not the same one of other years, but he continues being extraordinary.

"All footballers go through bad patches, but you can see that Ronaldinho is not the same one of two or three years ago. But he continues being an extraordinary player able to win a game with his genius."