African footballers continue to make names for themselves in the world but it is in the Premier League that we have witnessed some of them enjoy their best football ever.
African players have had the pride of representing their countries at international level. However, it is at club level where most of their fame has come from.
African players have flocked the English Premier League for the last three decades but who are the greatest African Players to ever set foot in England? Pulse Sports brings you the details of the top 5 footballers from Africa to torment the Premier League.
5. Michael Essien
Michael Essien in full flight for Chelsea.
The former Ghanaian midfielder was workaholic during his playing days at Chelsea. The dynamic midfielder forged a thelepathic understanding with former Germany captain Michael Ballack and the Blues’ creator in chief Frank Lampard, making the Chelsea midfield one of the best between 2005-2014.
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As a reward for his 168 appearances for the then Roman Abramovich-owned Chelsea, Essien chipped in with 17 goals in his preferred No.6 position. Essien helped the club win the Premier League in 2006 and 2010, as well as three FA Cups and one League Cup.
He won the UEFA Champions League in 2011–12, while also placing as runner-up in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. He has won the Chelsea Goal of the Season award twice, in the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons.
4. Mohamed Salah
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Mo Salah and Nuno Mendes of PSG in action during the Champions League encounter. Photo. Imago
Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, one of the greatest African players of all time, and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport, Mo Salah is known for his clinical finishing, dribbling, speed, and playmaking abilities at Liverpool.
Joining The Reds from AS Roma, the Egyptian set the record for most Premier League goals scored (32) in a 38-game season in his debut season in 2017. Salah helped Liverpool to the 2018 UEFA Champions League final. Having formed a formidable attacking trio with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané, Salah went on to be an integral player in the club’s Champions League and Premier League title successes in the following two seasons.
He has since also won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Salah has achieved numerous individual accolades, including two PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards, three Premier League Golden Boots, the Premier League Player of the Season, the Premier League Playmaker of the Season aming others.
3. Yaya Toure
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Yaya Toure converted all 11 of his Premier League penalties (Twitter/X)
Toure is regarded as one of the greatest midfielders to step into the English league owing to his achievements, after trading the attraction of Barcelona for the riches of Manchester City in 2010. At Manchester City, Yaya Toure scored a number of key goals, most notably the only goals in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final and final.
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He also helped City earn their first league title in 44 years. Touré was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Yaya, the younger brother of fellow former footballer Kolo Touré who was his teammate at Manchester City and the national team, scored 79 goals in 470 appearances across the eight clubs he represented.
2. Sadio Mane
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Sadio Mane in action for Liverpool against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League. Image. Imago
The current Al-Nassr and the Senegal national team forward has enjoyed remarkable success in his more than a decade long career. Perhaps it was at Liverpool that Mane made a name for himself. Mané signed for Liverpool in 2016, for a reported fee of £34 million, making him the most expensive African player in history at that time.
Having formed a formidable attacking trio with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino after the departure of prolific midfielder Philippe Coutinho, he helped the side reach back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2018 and 2019, winning the latter. He also finished as the league’s joint-top goalscorer in the 2018–19 season, winning the Premier League Golden Boot.
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Mané then helped end Liverpool’s 30-year league title drought by winning the 2019–20 Premier League. Mané finished fourth and second in the 2019 and 2022 editions of the Ballon d’Or, respectively; and in The Best FIFA Men’s Player he ranked fifth in 2019 and fourth in 2020.
1. Didier Drogba
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Didier Drogba was Chelsea’s Champions League hero in 2012 (Credit: Imago)
Drogba is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is known for his career at Chelsea, where he is the club’s top goalscorer as a foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goalscorer of all time. Drogba managed 104 goals across the two spells he had at Stamford Bridge (2004-2012, 2014-15).
In July 2004, Drogba signed from Marseille for £24 million, helped Chelsea win their first league title in 50 years in his debut season under coach Jose Mourihno. He was also inspirational in his second season as The Blues defended their title.
Drogba’s stock rose even further after he was named in the 2007 FIFA World XI. He also played in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, where he scored an 88th-minute equaliser and the winning penalty in the penalty shootout against Bayern Munich, handing the Blues their first-ever Champions League trophy.
Drogba scored in Chelsea’s 2012 FA Cup Final win over Liverpool to become the first player to score in four FA Cup finals. Apart from Chelsea, Drogba also played for Phoenix Rising, Montreal Impact, Galatasaray, Shanghai Shenhua, Le Mans and Guigamp. He retired in 2017 aged 40.
In 2012, Drogba was named Chelsea’s greatest ever player in a poll of 20,000 fans conducted by Chelsea Magazine. In 2020, he was named in the Chelsea team of the 2010–2020 decade. Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, he was known for his pace, aerial abilities, and powerful and accurate strikes. Drogba was named African Footballer of the Year twice (2006 and 2009).
