But the nadir of the four-time African Footballer of the Year's international career came in the World Cup, a tournament where he had long hoped to emulate the feats of his childhood hero, 1990 star Roger Milla.
At the tournament in South Africa in 2010 - the first edition to be held on African soil - Cameroon were the first team to leave the competition, prompting Eto'o to describe their exit after just two games as the biggest disappointment of his career.
He would play in a total of four World Cups (a joint African record), after making his debut as a 17-year-old against Italy in the 1998 finals, but never managed to help Cameroon into the knock-out stage.
Although he scored the goal that secured the 1990 World Cup quarter-finalists' last group win, when beating Saudi Arabia in 2002, Cameroon have since lost seven straight games at the finals.
The last defeat came against Mexico at this year's World Cup but marking Eto'o's 118th - and last - appearance, it did at least allow an African football icon to bow out on the sport's greatest stage.
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