Top 7 Greatest African Football Players of All Time

By March 27, 2019



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Here we have a list seven greatest African football players from different generations.

The list was gauged based on their skills and overall contributions to their teams.

George Weah

George Weah was an AC Millan legend and was the first true world-class African footballer. He was one of the most complete footballers of his generation. He won a variety of trophies in his career with clubs like Milan, Chelsea and PSG and was even awarded the 1996 African Player of the Century.

Samuel Eto’o

Eto’o is perhaps the most decorated Africa football player. He made his name at Real Mallorca before eventually joining Barcelona. He was also a catalyst in the revamp of Barcelona under Frank Rjikaard when he showed extra-ordinary skills in the 2006 European Cup winning campaign before departing for Inter Milan.

He won the European Cup with Inter as well and moved to Russia with Anzhi and did a good job there before finally returning to Chelsea for a season. He won a record African Player of the Year four times, and he is the continent’s richest player.

Roger Milla

The Cameroon striker was featured in three FIFA World Cups (1982, 1990 and 1994). Milla was fantastic in the 1990 World Cup where he helped the Indomitable Lions to the quarterfinal stage, thus Cameroon became the first African country to reach a World Cup quarterfinal.

Milla made a new record as the oldest player ever to score in the history of World Cup when he appeared at the 1994 World Cup at the age of 42.

Didier Drogba

Drogba has been an absolute monster of a forward for many years especially when he was with Chelsea FC.

Although he never led the Elephants to an AFCON final, he has been an integral part in the success and growth of Cote d’ivoire on the footballing map. Drogba is a truly iconic footballer.

Abedi Pele

The legendary Ghanaian attacking midfielder had his golden times in the game from 1988 and 1993 when he played for Marseille and Lille FC in the French league.

Pele won three French league titles and one Champions League trophy. Throughout his career, he played 479 times and scored 157 goals.

Jay-Jay Okocha

Okocha brought the flair of a Brazilian to matches and his tricks and unique attempts were some of the most enjoyable moments in his early career. Jay-Jay spent most of the peak of his career with Bolton Wanderers. He could easily have played for topflight clubs, but he knows best why he finished up at Hull City. No African player has been able to come anywhere close to Jay-Jay in terms of skill and flair.

Nwankwo Kanu

The two-time African Footballer of the Year is one of the continent’s best strikers of all time. During his career at the Emirates between 1999 and 2004, Kanu was known as a super-sub who helped Arsenal win five major trophies.

Kanu was a member of the golden generation of Ajax Amsterdam who won three Eredivisie titles and one Champions League trophy. Let’s not forget, Kanu helped Nigeria win the 1996 Olympics.

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This article was brought to us by the newest member of the Sports Writers Club – Greg Afamah. Greg is an Editor and Author at GoalBall. He is a graduate of Mass Communication with more than 8years experience working with reputable publications.