Why Samuel Eto'o has a bizarre relationship with Cameroon football

"The leaders of the FCF want to attack my life, they want to kill me. I live with a group of gendarmes and one sleeping in front of my door. I do this not out of snobbery, but for my own safety."

Those were the words of Samuel Eto'o in February 2013, when he was under the impression that his damaged relationship with the Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) was spiraling so out of control that his life was in danger.

Whether or not his concerns were justified is a discussion for another day, but there's no denying the hatred that Eto'o and FECAFOOT share for one another.

On Sunday morning, Cameroon's World Cup squad refused to board the flight that was taking them to Brazil, insisting that they would be on strike until they receive their promised World Cup payments. Given his tumultuous history with FECAFOOT and the fact he's Cameroon's captain, Eto'o almost certainly played a part in leading the mutiny.

Although head coach Volker Finke claims the issue is now resolved, and the team arrived in Brazil on Monday, this scene was all too familiar.

Disputes over bonus payments marred Cameroon ahead of the 1994 World Cup, and in 2002, the same thing happened as the squad initially refused to travel to Japan because pay was not guaranteed.

It seems FECAFOOT has faced allegations of corruption since the dawn of time, but never before have they had to deal with someone like Eto'o, who is using his celebrity status and multimillion dollar worth to fight his country's football executives.

In 2005, Eto'o paid his teammates nearly £1,200 each after Cameroon defeated Cote d'Ivoire in a crucial World Cup qualifier. Four year later, he gave each of his teammates a £29,000 watch after the Indomitable Lions secured a berth at South Africa 2010, following through on a promise that he made on French television show Telefoot. It was understood that the watches were made of solid gold and diamonds.

The gifts were obviously a slap in the face to FECAFOOT, who surely weren't happy about Eto'o taking on the role of a rich father figure among his teammates.

Fast forward to November 2011: While in Morocco for a tournament, Cameroon's squad went on strike after reportedly - that's right, you guessed it - FECAFOOT did not pay promised bonuses or appearance fees. They refused to travel to Algeria for a friendly, and the match was cancelled.

For his part in the rebellion, Eto'o was slapped with a 15-match ban. However, the suspension would only last eight months, well before Cameroon had played 15 fixtures, due to intervention from the country's president Paul Biya and protests from supporters.

Then, shortly after Eto'o made the remarks about FECAFOOT wanting to kill him, things changed.

Eto'o always made it seem like he was fighting for a just cause, fighting against the corruption and money-swindling of FECAFOOT. But following Cameroon's home-and-away versus Tunisia to determine what side would reach the World Cup in Brazil, it was obvious that there was more to the story than both Eto'o and FECAFOOT were willing to admit.

After briefly going into retirement ahead of the two-legged series for what could be a number of reasons, Eto'o backtracked on his decision and took the pitch against Tunisia. The first leg ended 0-0, and before the second leg, Eto'o called out his teammates for not passing him the ball while calling for team unity.

For the first time, Eto'o didn't have his teammates on his side, something that was so crucial in his attempts to shed light on the shady workings of FECAFOOT.

What happened? It's hard to tell exactly, but there was likely a feeling within Cameroon's team that Eto'o was causing the squad more harm than good with his political intentions.

Regardless of the reasons, however, it seems like Eto'o is once again on good terms with his teammates as they get set to kick off their World Cup campaign on Friday. It may have taken Cameroon an extra day to arrive in Brazil, but surely no one is surprised at this point.

And now that they're there, Cameroonians will be hoping that the four-time African Footballer of the Year can lead the Indomitable Lions to the same heights that Roger Milla did in 1990.