VIDEO: Samuel Eto’o congratulates Vedat Muriqi after surpassing RCD Mallorca goal record | OneFootball

‘The pirate’ has been a domineering presence for RCD Mallorca since arriving at the club back in 2022, and helping them to survive relegation. Since, he has been to a Copa del Rey final with Los Bermellones, and last weekend, he became their top scorer ever in La Liga.

As Mallorca romped to a 3-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, Muriqi grabbing himself a brace in the process that decided the game, before Jan Virgili added a third. It took Mallorca up to 15th, out of the relegation zone, and two points clear of Elche, a week after the Kosovan star had struck the winner against Real Madrid. Muriqi has now moved onto 55 goals for Mallorca in total, taking him past Samuel Eto’o as Mallorca’s record goalscorer in La Liga.

Samuel Eto’o congratulates Muriqi on making history

Eto’o is beloved for his time on the island, and the former Cameroon forward sent Muriqi a message this week to congratulate him for his new record.

“From Cameroon, Vedat, I send you my congratulations and best wishes for what you’ve just accomplished. I’m happy for what you’ve done, and I know it’s taken a lot of work, a so much work people I ask you to keep it up, to keep enjoying yourself and making our Mallorca even greater. Congratulations to you and all your teammates who have helped you. Well done!”

Muriqi reaction to Eto’o message

Muriqi, who was unaware of the message beforehand, said he would have thought this scene was a joke 15 years ago.

“I wasn’t expecting it. Thank you so much for this video from a true legend like Samuel Eto’o. I really appreciate his words. He’s done a great job here, and we all know how his career went. I’m grateful that he took the time to congratulate me. I’ve been a professional for 15 or 16 years, and if you had told me 15 years ago that I would receive a video from Eto’o, I would have said it was impossible, a joke, and here we are today. I’m very proud of myself.”

“I thank him for the video because, as I always say, thank you to my teammates, all the club staff, the fans, my family, and the island, because without you, I sincerely say that achieving this would have been impossible. Man, I wasn’t expecting it, I thought you were going to show my goals or something,” he laughed when asked about it.

Muriqi’s incredible campaign

The 31-year-old forward is enjoying the best season of his career, his 21 goals surpassing his previous best total of 17 goals with Fenerbahce, Rizespor and Giresunspor with seven games to go. It also has him second behind only Kylian Mbappe in the Pichichi race, who has 23 goals, just two ahead of him.

Eto’o still holds the all-time goalscoring record at Mallorca, with 70 to his name. Muriqi is on 56 in total, and is just three behind teammate Abdon Prats. Muriqi’s remarkable season has drawn admiration from across Spanish football, doing so in the context of a Mallorca side who are struggling. In total, Mallorca have just 39 goals in the league, meaning the Kosovan accounts for 54% of their attacking output.