Top 10 African footballers with most major trophies… Eto’o, McCarthy, Kanu, Essien all make the list

Samuel Eto'o, Drogba, McCarthy are some of the African

Nkwain Desmond January 16th, 2023, 5:08 pm

African football has produced many legendary footballers who have made their mark in World football with the likes of Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, George Weah, Abedi Pele, Yaya Toure, Jay Jay Okotcha and many more all coming from the continent. Today we bring to you the African footballers with most major trophies of all time.

1.Samuel Eto’o

The Cameroon international is considered as one of the best forwards to ever play the beautiful game. The now Cameroon football federation, FECAFOOT president had a long and glorious career that saw him play in the some of the best clubs in the World. Eto’o played for big names like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea. The four time African footballer of the year won a grand total of 19 major trophies in his career which included 4 UEFA Champions League trophies, 3 Spanish La Liga titles, 2 Copa Del Rey, 2 Coppa Italia, 1 Italian Serie A trophy, 1 FIFA club world cup, 1 super coppa Italiana, 1 Olympic gold medal and 2 African Cup of Nations.

2.Yaya Toure

The Ivorian midfield maestro comes second our list of the most decorated African footballers of all time. Yaya Toure played for big clubs like FC Barcelona and Manchester City. He enjoyed most of his career at Manchester city where he made 230 appearances for the Premier League giants from 2010-2018.

The former Barcelona man holds the joint record with Samuel Eto’o as the players with most African player of the year awards(4). He won it four times in a row making him the only player to do so.

In the entirety of his career, he has garnered 17 major trophies, and this includes 3 English Premier League titles, 2 La Liga, 1 African Cup of Nations, 1 Copa Del Rey, 1 Supercopa Espana, 1 FIFA club world Cup, 2 football league cup, 1 UEFA Champions League trophy, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FA Cup, 1 FA Community shield, 1 super League Greece and 1 Greek Cup.

3.Didier Drogba

One of the best players to ever play for Chelsea football club, the Ivorian had everything you will want from a striker. Speed, power, heading, finishing, Didier Drogba had it all.

Didier Drogba played for clubs like Marseille, Galassatary, etc but he is mostly remembered for his time at Chelsea football club where he dropped the most iconic performances in his career and won the most memorable trophies. The two time African footballer of the year won 17 trophies in his football career which includes 4 English Premier League titles, 4 Fa cups, 3 League cups, 2 FA community shield, 1 UEFA champions league, 1 Super Lig title at Galatasaray, 1 TFF Super Kupa and 1 Türkiye Kupası.

Drogba wasn’t able to win a trophy with his home nation Ivory Coast though he came close in 2012 Afcon finals but lost to Zambia in the finals.

4.Nwankwo Kanu

Another Nigerian to make the top 10 African footballers with most major trophies list, Kanu enjoyed his best moments at club level with Arsenal where he spent five years that is from 1999-2004. He was part of the Arsenal invincibles that went the whole 2003/2004 season unbeaten. Kanu was also part of the Nigerian team that won gold in the 1996 olympic games in Atalanta where they beat Argentina in the final. His career saw him win 16 trophies which includes 3 Eridivisie titles, 2 English Premier League titles, 3 FA cups 1 UEFA Champions League trophy, 1 Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 FA Community shield, 1 afro Asia Cup of Nations, 1 Olympic gold and 1 FA charity shield.

5.Samuel Kuff

The Ghanaian-born football legend is the only defender to have made the cut in this list. German giants Bayern Munich will one day have his name written somewhere in golden ink as one of the greatest defenders to have emerged at the club. He spent 11 seasons at the German club rising from youth team to become a prominent first squad member. Kuffour also played for clubs like Roma and Ajax.

Nicknamed Sammy, he capped 54 times for Ghana from 1993-2006. The defender won a total of 14 trophies during his playing days which includes 6 Bundesliga titles, four dfb-pokal, two dfb-Liga pokal, 1 UEFA Champions League trophy, and 1 Intercontinental Cup.

6.Michael Essien

He joins the long list of Africans to play for Chelsea football club and is arguably one of the best midfielders in the history of African football. The midfielder was Jose Mourinho’s favorite during his time at Chelsea and the Portuguese tactician even brought the midfielder on loan from Chelsea when he moved to Real Madrid. Essien played for some of the top clubs in Europe, featuring for Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan.

The midfield maestro who made 59 appearances with Ghana won a total of 13 major honours in his career which includes 2 English Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 Ligue 1 titles, 2 Trophee des champions, 1 League Cup, 1 FA Community shield and 1 UEFA Champions League trophy.

7.Kwadwo Asamoah

The Ghanaian international who played as a left midfielder and some times as a left back was part of the Juventus team that dominated Italy for more than nine years. Asamoah spent his whole club career in Italy where he played for Udinese, Juventus, Inter Milan and Cagliari. Asamoah made 74 appearances for his home nation Ghana before retiring in 2019 internationally. In his career, Asamoah won 13 trophies which includes 6 Italian Serie A titles, 4 Coppa Italia titles and 3 Supercoppa Italiana titles.

Asamoah did not win any trophy with Ghana. He came closest in 2010 where they finished as runners up.

8.John Obi Mikel

Another Nigerian who enjoyed most of his career in the England. He spent 11 years in England where he played for Chelsea football club accumulating 249 appearances in that period. John Obi Mikel won the African footballer of the year award once and won a total of 11 trophies in his career which includes 3 FA Cups, 2 England premier league titles, 1 League Cups, 1 FA Community shield, 1 UEFA champions league trophy, 1 UEFA Europa League, and 1 African Cup of Nations title. One can add an Olympic bronze medal to the mix.

9.Benedict Saul McCarthy

One of the faces of South African football, Benny Mc Carthy was one of Africa’s best players during his time. He was part of the iconic Jose Mourinho Porto side that shocked the World and won the 2003/2004 UEFA Champions league. Mc Carthy’s career saw him play for clubs like Porto, Celta Vigo, Ajax, Blackburn Rovers and many more. He capped 79 times for South Africa from 1997-2012, scoring 31 goals in that time.

The 1998 Afcon best player won a total of 11 major international honours during his playing days which includes 1 Eredivisie title, 2 KNVB cup titles, 1 UEFA Intertoto Cup, 2 Portuguese Primeira Liga titles, 1 Taca de Portugal title, 1 portuguese super cup title, 1 UEFA Champions league title, 1 Intercontinental cup.

10.Riyad Mahrez

One of the most technically gifted African players currently, Mahrez is known for his technicality and his ability to beat players one on one and shoot. He is arguably one of the best players for Manchester City in the Pep Guardiola era. The Algerian Right Winger has made 128 appearances scoring 40 goals for the premier league giants since joining from Leceister city in 2018.

Mahrez led Algeria to only their second Afcon title in 2019 scoring an iconic freekick in the semi finals against Nigeria. Mahrez has played only for four clubs in his career which are Quimper, Le Havre, Leceister city and Manchester City.

Mahrez has won 10 trophies so far in his career which include 4 Premier league titles, 1 FA cup title, 3 League Cup titles, 1 FA community shield trophy and 1 Afcon title.

The 2016 African footballer of the year is still active and you wouldn’t rule him out winning more and moving up the list.