Top 5 Greatest African players of all times.
5. Mohamed salah
Mohamed Salah can easily be considered as one of the best Africans to have played this beautiful game. After being cast out by Chelsea on multiple loan moves and then a permanent transfer to AS Roma, the winger has been consistently proving himself. His transfer to Liverpool has been no less than a dream.
Since his arrival, he has won the Premier League and Champions League. He has also won the Golden Boot twice in 2017-18 and 2018-19, scoring 32 and 22 goals respectively. Salah was also awarded the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2018.
4. Roger Milla (Cameroon)
The Cameroon international was recognized as the second greatest African player in the last 100 years by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). He has significant contributions in making history with Cameroon. He helped them reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1990, making them the first African team to play in that round.
At the age of 42, he scored against Russia, making him the oldest goalscorer at the World Cup. He also won The African Footballer of the Year award twice. The striker was also instrumental in guiding Cameroon to two AFCON titles in 1984 and 1988.
3. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Didier Drogba was a part of Chelsea’s golden generation, which included players such as Frank Lampard, John Terry and Petr Cech. Chelsea fans can never forget the 2012 Champions League final in Munich. Drogba’s late header levelled the game and his decisive penalty won them their first Champions League title against all odds.
He also won four Premier League titles with the London club. The striker was also the highest goalscorer in the 2006/07 and 2009/10 Premier League seasons. Though he did not win any international titles with the Ivory Coast, he was awarded with the African Footballer of the Year title twice. He thus remains one of the most decorated African footballers of all time
2- George Weah (Liberia)
George Weah stands as the only African player to have won the prestigious Ballon d’Or in 1995. In the same year, he was crowned as the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year.
Along with his two Serie A titles with AC Milan, the Liberian also won the FA Cup with Chelsea and Ligue 1 with PSG. He is a two-time African Footballer of the Year and was recognized by IFFHS as the greatest African player of the 20thcentury. He is currently the President of his nation, which is another feather in his cap.
1. Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
The former Cameroon international needs no introduction. Along with Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto’o also won the African Footballer of the Year award four times. His achievements include an Olympic gold in the year 2000, three Champions League titles (two with Barcelona and one with Inter Milan) and scored in two finals.
Eto’o also won three league titles with Barcelona and one with Inter Milan. He played a crucial role in Barcelona’s 2008-09 season, when they won the treble. The striker is AFCON’s and Cameroon’s highest goalscorer of all-time. Eto’o strength and pace made him a lethal striker.