Who’s the greatest African legend to play for each major club?

AC Milan: George Weah

The current president of Liberia spent his peak years at AC Milan after signing for the club from Paris Saint-Germain in 1995, the same year in which he won the Ballon d’Or.

The star striker established himself as one of the world’s finest players during that period, although two Serie A titles is a somewhat underwhelming return.

Barcelona: Samuel Eto’o

Arguably Africa’s greatest player of all-time, Eto’o enjoyed his prime at Barca, winning two Champions League titles before being moved on to Internazionale in the deal that took Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the Nou Camp.

He also won three Spanish titles at the club, and won the Pichichi Trophy for the league’s top scorer in 2006.

Borussia Dortmund: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Despite his fine goalscoring form in France, it was only after moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2013 that Auba began to be considered among the world’s finest strikers.

He won the golden boot with BVB—knocking Robert Lewandowski off his perch—and was also named the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season on one occasion before moving on to Arsenal.

Manchester United: Quinton Fortune

United haven’t regularly dipped into the African market, although with Eric Bailly and Aaron Wan-Bissaka currently at the club, they could realistically call upon a back four that’s 50 percent African!

To date, however, South Africa’s Fortune has been the club’s most prominent player from the continent.

His versatility made him a useful servant for the club for the best part of seven years, and he also won a league title in 2003.

Atletico Madrid: Thomas Partey

The pre-eminent African player in La Liga today, Partey has established himself as a key figure in Diego Simeone’s midfield, and reached a Champions League final with Atleti.

Recently linked with a move to Arsenal, it remains to be seen whether the Ghana powerhouse is coming to the end of his time in the Spanish capital.

Tottenham Hotspur: Nourredine Naybet

Despite being wanted by Manchester United earlier in his career, it wasn’t until 2004 that Naybet arrived in England, when he signed for Tottenham Hotspur after eight years with Deportivo La Coruna.

He was a La Liga winner in Spain, and showcased his leadership, elegance and defensive qualities across two campaigns in England before retiring.

Internazionale: Samuel Eto’o

One of several players to make this list with different clubs, Eto’o was a key figure in Jose Mourinho’s Internazionale side that unexpectedly clinched the Champions League.

It was the Cameroonian’s third success in the competition, and he also proved that he could transfer his quality from La Liga to Serie A, with a domestic title in 2010.

Liverpool: Mohamed Salah

Beating off competition from the likes of Sadio Mane and Bruce Grobbelaar, Salah makes the cut here.

He’s made a remarkable contribution to Liverpool’s recent rise, and is unfortunate to have won ‘only’ one Champions League title over the last few seasons, with Manchester City’s outstanding domestic form, Real Madrid and the coronavirus combining to deny the Reds several other items of silverware.

The Egypt superstar has broken records aplenty at Anfield, and is a two-time Golden Boot winner.

Ajax: Nwankwo Kanu

One of the greatest Nigerian players of all time, Kanu sees off the likes of Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George and Benni McCarthy to top our list of African stars in the history of Ajax.

The unpredictable attacker won the Champions League with the Dutch giants, before moving on to the likes of Internazionale and Arsenal.

Juventus: Kwadwo Asamoah

Injuries definitely overshadowed Asamoah’s time at Juventus, with the Ghanaian missing large swathes of action due to being sidelined.

Formerly a central midfielder at Udinese, he remodelled his game to become a versatile left-sider with the Old Lady, and was rewarded with six league titles before moving on to Internazionale.

Paris Saint-Germain: George Weah

Weah also makes our cut here for PSG, eclipsing Jay-Jay Okocha, another all-time great who represented the French giants.

The Liberian superstar spent three seasons with the capital club in the early-to-mid 90s, winning the French title in 1994 and clinching the French Cup on two occasions.

Bayern Munich: Sammy Kuffour

Few African players in history have enjoyed as much success in a major European league as Kuffour, who won a whopping six league titles during his time at Bayern Munich.

He was also a Champions League winner in 2001—making up for the disappointment of missing out against United in 1999—and no African player has ever made as big an impact in the German game.

Chelsea: Didier Drogba

Voted Chelsea’s greatest player, Drogba enjoyed immense success at Chelsea, where he memorably dragged the Londoners to the Champions League title in 2012.

He proved himself to be a big-game player under several different managers—no player in history has had a bigger impact in FA Cup finals than Drogba—and he ended his second tenure at Stamford Bridge with a fourth Premier League title.

AS Monaco: Yaya Toure

Many African greats have been on Monaco’s books over the years, with the Club of the Principality having regularly enjoyed some of the continent’s star names during their peak years.

Toure, however, represented the French heavyweights only briefly, signing from Olympiakos in 2006 before moving on to bigger and better things at Barcelona.

Celtic: Kolo Toure

Toure turned up at the Scottish giants at the tail end of a magnificent career in which he won Premier League titles with Arsenal and Manchester City, and was a member of the Gunners’ sublime Invincibles team.

The centre-back won the Afcon during a late-career stint with Liverpool, and would clinch a league-and-league-cup double while in Scotland before hanging up his boots.

Manchester City: Yaya Toure

No African player has ever made as big an impact at Manchester City than Toure, who won a series of Premier League titles at the club, and was a key protagonist in their rising to the pinnacle of the English game.

The Ivorian made decisive interventions—including winning goals in the semi-final and the final—as City clinched the FA Cup in 2011, a year before they ended their half-century wait for a league title.

FC Porto: Rabah Madjer

Madjer squeezes out Benni McCarthy as Porto’s greatest ever African player. The Algeria legend won three Portuguese titles with the domestic giants, averaging just under a goal every other game during his time in the top flight. His greatest moment, of course, came in the 1987 European Cup final, when he scored a sensational goal as Bayern Munich were dispatched.

Olympique de Marseille: Abedi Pele

One of the most outrageous talents to emerge from Africa, Pele is arguably the greatest Ghanaian in the history of the sport.

He was twice a French champion at Marseille—another club with an immense heritage of African players—and also played his part in their (tarnished) Champions League victory of 1993.

Real Madrid: Samuel Eto’o

Many forget that Eto’o actually began his career at Real before becoming a superstar with their fierce rivals Barcelona.

The Bernabeu giants opted to allow the Cameroon superstar to leave for Real Mallorca in 2000, following just three league appearances for Real, and it’s tantalising to imagine what might have been had he made his name in Madrid, rather than in Catalonia!