From veterans like George Weah, Samuel Eto’o to New generation footballers like Mohammad Salah, SadioMané, Africa has produced some fine talents that had given us nerve-wracking moments in football.
Selecting the top 10 from a pool of excellent players was quite difficult, don’t get sad if you don’t find your favorite player on this list. With most of the focus on European footballers, Africa has a rich history of talented footballers. With this, let’s go and check out the article on Top 10 Best African Football Players of all time.
Top 10 Best African Football Players of All Time
10. Essam El-Hadary
- National Team: Egypt
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Citizenship: Egypt
Essam El-Hadary is arguably one among the best African goalkeeper of all time. Nicknamed as ‘High Dam’ by Didier Drogba to be his hardest rival ever. The Goalkeeper has played the majority of his career with Al-Ahly winning 8 League titles with the club.
El-Hadary has made over 159 appearances for his national team and won 4 African Cup of Nations in 22 years. One of the underrated football players, he has won 4 Egyptian Cups, 4 Egyptian Super Cups, 4 CAF Champions League titles, 3 CAF Super Cups, 1 Arab Club Champions Cup, and 2 Arab Super Cup.
9. Thomas N’kono
- National Team: Cameroon
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Citizenship: Cameroon
Known for his agility and acrobatic saves, N’Kono is arguably the second-best African football player of all time. He made 63 appearances for his national team and won 3 World Cups and 4 Africa Cup of Nations. N’kono played almost a decade for Espanyoland made 241 appearances. After having a great spell at Espanyol, he moved to Sabadell in 1991.
N’kono named African Footballer of the Year twice. Besides, he holds continental club titles with Kpa-Kum. He is one of the best African football players of all time.
8. Nwankwo Kanu
- National Team: Nigeria
- Position: Centre-Forward
- Citizenship: Nigeria
Kanu is one of the best African footballers of all time and has won almost every title including Premier League FA Cup, UEFA Cup, and Olympic Gold Award. He is the brand ambassador for StarTimes and also ownsKanu Sports TV. Kanu is the best Nigerian player who knew how to defeat goalkeepers when he attacks.
The Centre Forward has played for big clubs like Arsenal, Ajax, and Inter Milan. He made 87 appearances for his national team and scored 12 goals. Kanu is a true legend who showed amazing football with his talent and will be remembered in African football history.
7. Augustine Jay-Jay Okocha
- National Team: Nigeria
- Position: Attacking Midfielder
- Citizenship: Nigeria
Okocha started his senior career at Borussia Neunkirchen in 1990 and made 35 goals for his club. He has played for clubs like PSG, Qatar FC, Hull City and made a total of 454 appearances in his football career. The Midfielder has won BBC Footballer of the Year 2003, 2004, and Africa Cup of Nations 2004.
Till date, he is known for his feints and step overs. Moreover, he is one of the greatest African Football players of all time. Okocha was an integral member of the successful Nigerian side who won the Olympic Gold at the Atlanta Games. He was included in the list of the top 125 living footballers by Pelé in March 2004.
6. Yaya Toure
- National Team: Ivory Coast
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Citizenship: Cote d’Ivoire
Yaya Toure is one among the best players in the midfield position. He named African Footballer of the Year twice in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. He won everything while playing for FC Barcelona including UEFA Champions League, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup.
After having a great spell in Barcelona, he moved to Manchester City in 2010 where he made 230 appearances and scored 59 goals.
Being an integral part of the club, he won many titles including Premier League, FA Cup, and FA Community Shield. The midfielder played for Ivory Coast and won the Africa Cup of Nations 2015. He is undoubtedly the best African midfielder who ever played for the nation. Besides, his skills were impeccable.
5. Roger Milla
- National Team: Cameroon
- Position: Forward: Centre-Forward
- Citizenship: Cameroon
Roger Milla gained his international stardom at the age of 38 by scoring 4 goals in the 1990 World Cup. When most players get retired, he became famous at this age. He won the “Best African Footballer of the Year” in 1976 and 1990. Many considered him as the best African football player but it is a debatable topic.
Milla made 77 appearances for his national team and scored 43 goals. Furthermore, he won the Africa Cup of Nation for Cameroon 1984, 1988. His trademark goal celebration of running to the corner flag and performing the dance is surely remembered by everyone.
Milla made a total of 666 appearances and scored a total of 405 goals in his senior football career.
4. Abedi Pele
- National Team: Ghana
- Position: Forward: Attacking Midfielder
- Citizenship: Ghana
Abedi Pele is one of the best African footballers of all time. He was the superstar of the mid 90’s lifting many titles for his club. He won the African Footballer of the year 1991, 1992, and 1993 and 1 BBC African Player of the Year
1991. OTHER MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE:-
- Ghana Footballer of the Year 1993
- FIFA 100
- Africa Nation Golden Ball 1992
- UEFA Champions League 1992-93
Nicknamed as Maestro and The African Maradona, he was known for his speed, dribbling skills, and goalscoring ability. The Midfielder was named 3rd best African Player of the Century by IFFHS. In his senior career, he scored 157 goals in a total of 479 appearances.
3. Didier Drogba
- National Team: Ivory Coast
- Position: Forward: Centre-Forward
- Citizenship: Cote d’Ivoire
Didier Drogba was a goal machine and an impeccable striker for Chelsea. In his football career, he lifted 1 UEFA Champions League trophy, 4 Premier League trophies, 4 FA Cup, 3 English League Cups, 4 FA Cups, and 2 Community Shields.
Drogba’s best achievement was winning the UCL in 2012 against Bayern Munich where he was a key member to help the club to lift the trophy.
He is one of the best African football players of all time and ranked among Samuel Eto’o and George Weah. Drogba has scored a total of 210 goals in 497 appearances he made in his senior club career.
2. George Weah
- National Team: Liberia
- Position: Forward: Striker
- Citizenship: Liberia
George Weah is the only African player to win the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year 1995. He is right now is the President of Liberia. But, during his football days, he was one of the best African football players of all time.
He won the best African player of the 20th century, BBC Footballer of the Year, African Footballer of the Year 1989, 1994, 1995. We scored 194 goals in a total of 413 appearances he made in his football career. In his prime, he was known widely for the attacking instincts, speed, and a multi-functional forward traits he had.
1. Samuel Eto’o
- National Team: Cameroon
- Position: Forward: Striker
- Citizenship: Cameroon
Samuel Eto’o is one among the best African football player of all-time. With the magic in his feet, he won the most Champions League and African player of the Year a record 4 times. Eto’o was an integral member of the Barcelona attack, alongside Ronaldinho, that won the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final.
After having a successful career at FC Barcelona, he moved to Inter Milan in 2010. Eto’o became the first player to win two European continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and Inter. A truly talented African player who scored 56 goals for his national team.
Best African Football Players – Bottom Line
Do you know who is the best African football player 2020? The best African football player right now is Sadio Mane. The Liverpool forward surely got some tricks in his bag. This was an informative article on Top 10 Best African Football Players of all Time. AI hope you like this article and make sure to give your suggestions in the comment box below. Till then, Peace Out!
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