Football is a sport, but it’s much more than that. To some people, it’s a way of life. African athletes have played an important role in their clubs over the years as they have competed for league titles and European championships.
When given the chance to participate in a top league, our African athletes have always given it their all to show off their skills. Africans are gifted with natural skills and are tireless workers. Here are some of the notable players that have distinguished themselves as ambassadors of Africa on the world stage recently;
Didier Drogba, a superstar from Ivory Coast, is regarded as the best African athlete to ever compete in the Premier League.
He scored 157 goals in 341 games during his first eight seasons with Chelsea, and he added seven more in 40 games when he came back for one more season, making him the club’s fourth-highest goal scorer all-time.
He captured four Premier League championships, four FA Cups, three League Cups, and the Champions League in the most dramatic and beautiful of circumstances.
He won the Premier League Golden Boot twice, first in 2007 and the Ivorian went on to win it again in 2010 with flair. Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the award in 2006 and 2009.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a star for Gabon, excelled for Dortmund in Germany before pursuing a 2018 transfer to Arsenal. The Speedster surprised everyone by putting on a fantastic performance in the elite league.
Aubameyang was the engine of Arsenal’s offense, scoring 22 goals to win the Golden Boot in 2019. Aubameyang scored twice as Arsenal came from behind to defeat Chelsea 2-1 and win the FA Cup for a record 14th time in 2020, thanks to Aubameyang’s two goals.
Aubameyang was named African Footballer of the Year, winning the award in 2016.
Samuel Eto, a legend for Cameroon became the first player in history to win two European continental trebles when he left Barcelona for Inter Milan in 2009 and won the domestic league, domestic cup, and Champions League in Spain and Italy, respectively.
At Barcelona Eto scored a stunning 130 goals across all competitions during his fruitful five-season stint with there. He now ranks among the club’s all-time leading scorers.
Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly, also known as Mo Salah is an Egyptian attacker who plays for Liverpool, he is renowned for his finishing, dribbling, and pace, and is regarded as one of the best players in the world and among the greatest African players of all time.
Salah joined Liverpool in 2017, and in his first season, he set a record for the most Premier League goals ever (32) in a season with 38 games played. Salah also assisted Liverpool in reaching the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final. In the following two seasons, the club won the Champions League and the Premier League, thanks in large part to Salah, who also won the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Thomas Teye Partey, a reliable Ghanaian footballer who started playing professionally in 2013, signed with Atlético Madrid.
He is known for his exceptional defensive effort rate in the middle of the field, which gives Atletico Madrid an advantage over their rivals. In 2018, he won both the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Europa League. He joined Arsenal in 2020 to support them in their pursuit of the Premier League title.
Thomas’ presence in the midfield has helped Arsenal rise to the top of the standings and put them halfway to winning the championship.
Senegalese Superstar Sadio Mané was a forward for Liverpool Football Club, he presently plays for Bayern Munich in Germany.
His dribbling pace and scoring ability have earned him a reputation as one of the best players in the world. Mane was the offensive catalyst for Liverpool, scoring 22 goals to win the Golden Boot for the year. Mané then assisted Liverpool in winning the 2019–2020 Premier League, ending their 30-year league title drought. He became the third African to achieve the 100-goal mark in the Premier League in October 2021. In the Ballon d’Or competitions in 2019 and 2022, Mané came in fourth and second, respectively. Sadio Mane has two African Player of the Year awards to his name, in 2019 and 2021.
Ivorian-born Yannick Kessié, a former midfielder for AC Milan, played a key role in the team’s success in the 2022 campaign by securing the team’s midfield’s central position, which allowed the team to play a free-flowing brand of football and win the league. Kessi joined the Spanish team Football Club, Barcelona at the end of the 2021–2022 season, After conquering Italy.
It was time to do the same in Spain, and everything is going according to plan. In Spain, as Barcelona is now in the first position on the league table.
Odion Jude Ighalo is a striker for the Nigerian national team. Ighalo returned to the Premier League on January 31, 2020, joining Manchester United on loan for the conclusion of the campaign.
He then joined the team as the first player from Nigeria and the seventh from Africa.
A professional footballer from Nigeria named Alexander Chuka Iwobi plays for the Premier League team Everton Football Club as a midfielder. Iwobi started his professional career at Arsenal, where he made 149 appearances, netted 15 goals, won the FA Cup in 2017, and scored in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final. Iwobi contributed five assists to the league during the 2022–2023 season.
Before joining Manchester City, Riyad Karim Mahrez was a professional football player who played as a winger in the Premier League for the English team Leicester City, whom he helped to advance to the Premier League after winning the Championship. Mahrez was one of four Leicester players named to the PFA Team of the Year in April 2016, and later that month earned the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.
Mahrez helped Leicester win the Premier League during the 2015–16 season. He received the honour for the first time among Africans.
Mahrez became the first Algerian to be awarded a Premier League trophy as Leicester concluded the season as winners. In October 2016, Mahrez was a finalist for the Ballon d’Or and placed seventh.
In December 2016, he received the BBC African Footballer of the Year award. Mahrez joined Manchester City in 2018 and won his second championship with the team on February 24, 2019. He has now won the Premier League four times.
The fierce, explosive Nigerian striker Victor James Osimhen plays for Napoli in Italy. In the 2021–22 season, he was named the Best Young Player in Serie A. With 32 goals. Victor Osimhen, who leads the list of top goal-scorers at the moment, is Napoli’s best chance to win the 2022–23 season.
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré is a former midfielder who now coaches professional football. He is Tottenham Hotspur’s academy coach in the Premier League.
He was recognized as one of the best players in the world during his playing days. He played as a box-to-box midfielder for clubs throughout the bulk of his career. Touré, who is considered to be one of the best African players of all time, won the African Footballer of the Year award in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Furthermore, before his move to Manchester City, Toure participated in the historic 2009 Barcelona team that won six titles in a single year and played in more than 100 matches for the club. Touré transferred to Manchester City in 2010, where he scored several important goals, including the lone goals in the 2011 FA Cup semifinal and championship. Additionally, he contributed to City’s first league championship in 44 years.
Achraf Hakimi Mouh is a professional football player who has gained notoriety throughout the years. Prior to joining Paris Saint-Germain, he played for Real Madrid in Spain and Dortmund in Germany. He mostly plays right-back.
One of the best right-backs in football, he is renowned for his speed, running ability, and goal-scoring ability. He needed a loan move to Italy to join Inter Milan since in the early stages of his career he was not getting the playing time he desired in Madrid.
The addition of Hakimi helped the team push for the championship, and they ultimately won the Serie Trophy for the 2020–2021 season. Hakimi’s transfer to PSG resulted in a win for the squad, as evidenced by their Ligue 1 championship.
African Players Impact In Europe Top 5 Leagues
