At t the age of 13, most African boys would be either be herding family livestock, trapping birds or chasing hares and rabbits in the bush. Those lucky to be born in town would most likely be playing hide-and-seek. Those lucky to be attending school going, would be playing truancy. Not for Samuel Eto’ofils.

Thirteen years is the age at which Africa’s richest footballer and four-time African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto’ofils left Cameroon for Russia to launch an illustrious football career that saw him play in virtually all top leagues in Europe.

For Eto’o – born March 10, 1981 –swapping the tropical African climate to the sub-zero temperatures is a testament of how the young lad had his mind on his future. He ensure the punishing weather, fended off racism that is rife in Russia  even today and adjust to the many unfriendly cultures in Europe. He barely knew how to read and write, so it was difficult getting by.

However, money has given him a life he may never have dreamed of while growing up as a young boy in Cameroon, but it has also helped hundreds of disadvantaged children in his home country.

Now President of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), Eto’o, is one of the few retired footballers who look and appreciate sports as a rewarding career. At the time Eto’o was launching his professional career, the sport was regarded as preserve of academic dwarfs or a preoccupation of the poor.

According to Forbes list of richest sportsmen, Samuel Eto’o’s net worth is estimated to be $95 million in cash, excluding assets. His business empire continues to grow, with a notable airline company, Luxury Plane. His charity efforts compare remarkably with his contemporaries – Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba, Nigeria’s Kanu Nwankwo, Liberia former President George Weah and former national team mate Roger Milla.

Forbes ranks Eto’o the richest African footballer in the world and ranks 12th globally, according to Forbes and Wealthy Gorilla. His real estate holdings include rental properties, namely a castle in Milan worth 14 billion FCFA, castle in England worth 9.4 billion FCFA ($15 million) and a castle in Mallorca worth 12.7 billion FCFA ($20.2 million), which he purchased in 2004. He also owns a mansion in Barcelona valued at 19 billion FCFA ($30.1 million), located in the same neighbourhood as Lionel Messi and Carles Puyol.

The Fecafoot president owns a house in Genoa valued at 6.5 billion FCFA ($10.3 million), which he acquired during his time at Sampdoria, Italy.

His investments spread to the hotel industry and include a hotel in Turkey, which he co-owns with the president of Turkey’s Antalyaspor FC, which is valued at 32 billion FCFA ($50.7 million). In addition, he co-owns a five-star hotel in Moscow, nearly of the same value.

The other businesses ventures are:

• Luxury watch brand: Eto’o World
• Sports management company: UTOPIA (having sold over 60 professional players)
• Private plane rental company
• Luxury car collection: 43 limited-edition vehicles

Eto’o’s involvement in charity is attested to by some 700 million FCFA ($1.2 million) he donated to Laquitini, he has also built a hospital in Som Mbengue that cost over 500 million FCFA ($792,500).

The Fundacion Privada Samuel Eto’o (Samuel Eto’o Private Foundation), which he established in 2006 to help provide basic healthcare and works to improve social inclusion.

“We’ve done quite a few things with ambulances, operation centres…we’ve built hospitals in the interior of the country,” he points out.

So, while Eto’o is aware of the exorbitant wages he has received, he is equally aware of just how vital that money has been in helping those chasing the dream of becoming Africa’s next superstar football player.

About charity he says, “I have a lot of boys who play in Barcelona’s youth academy. I have another named Unlinga who plays also for Malaga. All of these come from my foundation. I have a lad who’s a good forward, he’s doing quite well, named Odongu. I have a kid named Abanya who’s a centre-back. All of them come from my foundation and it’s the joy that I try to share – the opportunity – that I want to give to each child. They themselves have to fight for their place, but the first opportunity is what I try to give them.”

A brief history of the former Barcelona centre-forward puts in context how he earned his massive fortune. When Eto’o, a four time African Player of the Year, signed for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2011, he became the highest paid player in the world. Here was a man who had already won the Champions League on three occasions, starred with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan and led Cameroon to Africa Cup of Nations glory twice.

It was a move that raised plenty of eyebrows considering Anzhi’s standing on the European stage and gave credence to the argument that Eto’o was more interested in Russian roubles than ramming home goals in one of the continent’s top divisions.

Such accusations rile the 42-year-old, who is adamant that he made the move to an unheralded team in Dagestan for the challenge rather than the financial rewards provided by the club’s oil tycoon chairman Suleiman Kerimov.

 “It’s not a question of money because when you look at my career, I’d won everything except the World Cup,” Eto’o is quoted by CNN World Sport as saying. “It’s also a problem of motivation too. I had the opportunity during that window to play again at Inter and other teams in Italy. At Inter, I was the best paid player in the world. But it’s not a question of money because when I go out onto the pitch, I only have one thing in mind – winning.

“And I don’t think about having money in my bank account or not, I only think about winning, having fun and entertaining the fans. These are the only things I have in my head. Of course, it’s normal for people to say, ‘yeah, this player changed teams because of the money.’ That could be the case sometimes, but after a certain level of success? No,” he recounts.

When Eto’o moved to Chelsea he reportedly taken a huge pay cut from the estimated $26.8 million a year he was earning at Anzhi. Instead, he has signed a one-year deal at Stamford Bridge thought to be worth around $11 million with Anzhi keen to offload the forward and ease pressure on its wage bill.

The move to the west London club came as something of a surprise, not least because of the striker’s former disdain for a club which he said, “I’d rather sell groundnuts in my village than to play for a pathetic team like Chelsea.”

That comment came following Chelsea’s Champions League victory over Barcelona in 2005 where Eto’o was left seething at the tactics of Jose Mourinho – now in his second spell as manager of the London club.

After the tie, which Chelsea won, Eto’o told a Spanish media outlet: “Chelsea going through is a disaster for football. If this team wins the Champions League, it would make you want to retire.”

Little did Eto’o know then that five years later he would be exchanging friendly letters and text messages with Mourinho as Inter Milan embarked on an astonishing run of success, which culminated with victory in the 2010 Champions League final.

In July 2009, the Cameroon striker was sent packing by Barcelona as the Catalan club secured the services of the enigmatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Eto’o, was seen as surplus to requirements and moved to Serie A to team up with Mourinho, a partnership which flourished even after the two parted ways.

While he is reticent when it comes to talking about former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, “I don’t talk about him,” he says, Eto’o is unyielding in his praise for Mourinho.

“There is only one Jose Mourinho,’ Eto’o once said about the Portuguese coach. “I have played under a lot of great coaches but there is no other character in the game like Jose.”

The two men helped Inter win the treble during their time together at the San Siro and Eto’o even revealed that he attempted to persuade Mourinho to move to Anzhi with him.

“Since we met at Inter, he has always been in my life,” he said.

“We talk almost all the time – he sent me a good luck message before a match and I’d send him something, he can ask me something or I can do the same.

“And I’m going to tell you a secret. You know that I spoke with the boss about coming with me to Anzhi? Because I thought he was the right man for the job and situation. Yes, I said this to him.”

Mourinho retuned to Chelsea following his departure from Real Madrid, where the two reunited, with the club aiming to challenge for both the Premier League and Champions League titles. Eto’o sees similarities between this Chelsea side and the Inter team which conquered Europe in 2010.

“When I got to Inter, they didn’t expect anything from us,” he said. “People would say, ‘they’re old, they’re this, they’re that’ and we ended up winning everything, in football, it’s not a question of saying, ‘do we have a squad?’ The first thing for victory is believing. Believing that you can achieve. When you believe that you can achieve something, I’m sure that you’re 60 per cent on the path to victory.

“Chelsea has won before and it can win again. We’re going to work hard to be able to do it.”

• A Tell / Agencies report