Madrid/Barcelona  - Samuel Eto'o is a millionaire, he scores goals for Barcelona without blinking, and he still does not look happy.

That is what happens when such a big ego plays for a club who wanted to sell him barely four months ago, and when he has to share a changing-room with the acclaimed Lionel Messi.

Eto'o, 27, is the goalscorer of the day in Europe. On Sunday he scored two goals in Barcelona's 3-1 win against Sporting Gijon, and he has scored a most impressive 21 goals in 22 games in Spain's La Liga. There is no one like him in the continent's major leagues.

However, something is still not right, and nobody would bet a penny on the Cameroon striker staying on at Barcelona.

His contract expires in 2010, although there have been no talks of a possible extension, and sources at the Catalan club insist that Eto'o cannot forget what he went through in the pre-season, when Barcelona was looking to sell him off.

Rumours about his future are running wild. For instance, Italian website Sportmediaset said Monday that Inter Milan was willing to offer 30 million euros (38.9 million dollars) for the player.

Spanish radio network Cadena SER, in turn, said late Sunday that Eto'o met with Ramon Calderon - Real Madrid president at the time - before the start of the season, and "almost begged him to do everything possible" to sign him. Such a story is unlikely to go down well in the Barcelona environment.

Curiously enough, Eto'o was rejected by Real Madrid in his youth. The club from the capital brought him to Spain, but then loaned him off to Mallorca, and from Mallorca he went to Barcelona.

Everyday there are new reports about Barcelona's efforts to sign a top-notch striker. That is, a replacement for Eto'o. David Villa, Karim Benzema and Emmanuel Adebayor have been mentioned in this context.

In recent seasons, there was constant talk of the relationship between Eto'o and Ronaldinho, who was the idol of Barcelona fans at the time. Eto'o scored the goals, but Ronaldinho got all the praise.

Josep Guardiola became Barca's coach this season.

"I am not considering Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto'o," he said in a very early message.

The first two have left the club, while the African striker only stayed because Barcelona found no suitable buyer for him. Too much for Eto'o's pride.

The undoubtedly talented forward, always inclined to controversy, started the season in silence and his work made Guardiola change his mind. Eto'o returned to the starting line-up. He kept scoring goals, and so far nobody can really complain, on or off the pitch.

Ronaldinho was history at Barcelona, but Eto'o's ego bumped into the impressive rise of Messi. The Argentine is now the absolute hero of Barcelona fans, who constantly sing out his name. They do not do the same with Eto'o.

What will happen in the coming months? On the pitch, it is likely that the Cameroon striker will continue to score goals, perhaps to break all records. Off the pitch, Eto'o may just give up on Barcelona. dpa