Top five African footballers with highest Ballon d’or ranking in history

Nkwain Desmond March 17th, 2023, 9:54 am

African footballers with the highest Ballon d’or ranking in history see big names like Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba appear on the list.

George Weah still remains the only African till date to ever win the Ballon d’or award despite the multiple nominations African footballers have received in the past.

Some African footballers have come close to winning the award like Sadio Mane who finished runner up in 2022.

Below is a list of top five African footballers who have had the highest ranking in the history of the Ballon d’or.

5. Mohammed Salah

Salah finished fifth in the 2022 Ballon d’or rankings.He won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, Community Shield that year. He also guided Liverpool to a second place Premier league finish with Liverpool. Salah won the Premier League golden boot and play maker award in the 2021/2022 season with Liverpool after scoring 23 goals and providing 13 assists. Benzema won the Ballon d’or in 2022 and Salah finished fifth with 116 points.

4. Samuel Eto’o

Eto’o finished 5th in the Ballon d’or rankings in 2009. He won the Champions league, La Liga and Copa Del Rey with Barcelona that year. He also finished second highest scorer in La Liga in the 2008/2009 season with 30 goals, two goals behind Diego Forlan. With Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o guided his nation to a second place finishing finishing top scorer.

Eto’o had 75 ballon d’or points that year. Messi scooped the award with a whopping 473 total points.

3. Didier Drogba

The Ivorian international finished fourth in the Ballon d’or rankings in 2006. Drogba won the League Cup and FA Cup double with Chelsea that year. He also finished top scorer for Chelsea in the premier league with 30 league goals.

Drogba finished fourth with 108 points and Brazilian international Kaka won the award that year with 445 points.

2. Sadio Mane

The Senegalese finished runner up in 2022 after an incredible season where he scored alot and won multiple trophies. Mane won the EFL Cup, FA Cup and finished runner up with Liverpool in the Champions league. He also guided Senegal to their first ever AFCON title in Cameroon, also helping them qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Sadio Mane finished second with a total of 193 Ballon d’or points, 356 points behind winner Karim Benzema.

1. George Weah

He still remains the only African to ever win the Ballon d’or. Weah finished first in the Ballon d’or rankings in 1995, the first year after the award was made eligible for Non European footballers. The now Liberian president won the French Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and also finished top scorer in the UEFA Champions League. He finished first in the Ballon d’or rankings with144 points, 36 points more than second placed German international Jürgen Klinsmann.