The duels
Pick the greater legend. Every vote moves the people's ranking of Legends of Africa.
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Pick the greater legend. Every vote moves the people's ranking of Legends of Africa.
Ranked by the almanac. Vote in the duels to build the people's version.
93
Didier Drogba 
104 caps · 65 goals · Le Mans, En Avant de Guingamp · Golden Foot 2013Munich, 19 May 2012, 88th minute: Drogba attacked Juan Mata's corner in a stadium full of Bayern fans and headed Chelsea level, then buried the penalty that won the European Cup. That night ended Chelsea's wait for a Champions League, and he added four Premier League titles, four FA Cups with a goal in every one of those finals, two African Footballer of the Year awards, and a record 65 goals for Ivory Coast.
STAll-time
93
Mohamed Salah 
115 caps · 67 goals · Al Mokawloon Al Arab SC, FC Basel · The Best FIFA award 2018His first season at Liverpool ended with 32 league goals in 38 games, still the most anyone has managed in a 38-match Premier League season. The Champions League followed a year later, opened by his penalty inside two minutes of the final against Tottenham; two Premier League titles in 2020 and 2025, four Golden Boots, the Club World Cup and African Footballer of the Year in both 2017 and 2018 sit beside it.
RMAll-time
93
Samuel Eto'o 
118 caps · 56 goals · FC Barcelona, Inter Milan · Golden Foot 2015Thiago Motta's red card at Camp Nou on 28 April 2010 turned Cameroon's finest striker into a right-back, and Eto'o spent the rest of that Champions League semi-final defending against the club that had sold him. His list runs to AFCON titles in 2000 and 2002, Olympic gold the same year, three Champions Leagues, the only back-to-back treble won at two different clubs, a record 18 AFCON goals and four African Footballer of the Year awards.
STAll-time
75 caps · 14 goals · Eintracht Frankfurt, Paris Saint-GermainFive Karlsruhe defenders, some of them twice, then Oliver Kahn: that was Okocha's route to goal in Frankfurt on 31 August 1993, a strike Kahn still calls dizzying and Jürgen Klopp rates the best in Bundesliga history. The 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and Olympic gold at Atlanta in 1996 head his list, followed by the 2000 AFCON final with Nigeria, three World Cups, the captaincy of the Super Eagles, and a 1998 move to Paris Saint-Germain that made him the most expensive African footballer of his day.
CAMAll-time
63 caps · 37 goals · Léopards Douala, SC BastiaIn extra time against Colombia in 1990 he picked René Higuita's pocket outside the box and rolled the ball into an empty net, then danced at the corner flag. Africa Cup of Nations winner in 1984 and 1988, African Footballer of the Year in 1976 and 1990, scorer of four goals at 38 in Italy and, at 42 years and 39 days against Russia in 1994, still the oldest man to score at a World Cup.
SSAll-time
130 caps · 55 goals · Southampton, LiverpoolSouthampton were still goalless against Aston Villa on 16 May 2015 when Mané scored three times in two minutes and fifty-six seconds, and nobody has beaten that Premier League record since. His penalty settled the shootout that made Senegal African champions for the first time in Yaoundé in 2022; before that came the 2019 Champions League with Liverpool and the 2019-20 Premier League, plus African Footballer of the Year in 2019 and 2022.
CAMAll-time
91
Yaya Touré 102 caps · 19 goals · K.S.K. Beveren, FC BarcelonaManchester City had gone 35 years without a trophy when he scored the only goal in the 2011 FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United and then the only goal in the final against Stoke. He won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, four straight African Footballer of the Year awards from 2011, the 2009 Champions League with Barcelona while filling in at centre-back in the final, three Premier League titles and two in Spain.
CMAll-time
90
Achraf Hakimi 
99 caps · Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan · Hall of Fame 2022Spain had missed all three of their penalties when Hakimi stepped up in Al Rayyan on 6 December 2022 and dinked a Panenka down the middle to send Morocco into the World Cup quarter-finals. He has three European Cups, one at Real Madrid in 2018 and two at Paris in 2025 and 2026, plus Serie A with Inter in 2021, Ligue 1 every season since he joined Paris, and the African Footballer of the Year award in 2025.
RBAll-time
90
Michael Essien 
59 caps · SC Bastia, Olympique LyonnaisNine minutes into the semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on 6 May 2009, a Barcelona clearance dropped to Essien 25 yards out and he volleyed it in off the underside of the bar. He won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012, two Premier League titles and four FA Cups there, back-to-back Ligue 1 titles at Lyon, and took Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 2005 and BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2006.
CDMAll-time
87 caps · 28 goals · NA Hussein Dey, Racing Club de FranceVienna, 77th minute of the 1987 European Cup final: Juary pulled the ball back, Madjer let it run behind his standing leg and flicked it in with his heel, and Porto beat Bayern 2-1. He won that European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup the same year, three Portuguese titles, the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil as its best player, and African Footballer of the Year in 1987.
SSAll-time
90
Riyad Mahrez 120 caps · 40 goals · Leicester City, Manchester City · national Player of the Year 2016Nigeria built a wall and laid a man on the grass behind it in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the 2019 semi-final, and Mahrez curled the free kick over both into the top corner. Algeria won that Africa Cup of Nations, and he collected five English league titles, one with Leicester in 2016 and four at Manchester City, the 2023 Champions League, and African Footballer of the Year in 2016.
RMAll-time
73 caps · 33 goals · Olympique de Marseille, Lille OSCHis corner in Munich on 26 May 1993 found Basile Boli's head and beat Milan, making Marseille the first French club to win the European Cup. African Footballer of the Year went to him three years running from 1991 to 1993, and he also won two French championships, the Nations Cup at 17 in 1982, and player of the tournament in 1992, when suspension kept him out of the final Ghana lost.
CAMAll-time
89
Kalidou Koulibaly 103 caps · K.R.C. Genk, SSC NapoliTwo minutes after Moisés Caicedo levelled for Ecuador on 29 November 2022, Koulibaly answered with a volley that carried Senegal into a World Cup last sixteen for the first time since 2002. He was the captain who lifted Senegal's first Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, won the Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2020 and the Saudi Pro League with Al-Hilal in 2024, and made the Serie A Team of the Year four seasons running.
CBAll-time
58 caps · 37 goals · Shooting Stars SC, VitóriaTwenty-one minutes into Nigeria's first World Cup match, against Bulgaria on 21 June 1994, he ran on into the goal, grabbed the netting with both fists and bellowed through it. Yekini won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations as both top scorer and player of the tournament, was African Footballer of the Year in 1993, took the Portuguese golden boot with 21 goals for Vitória Setúbal, and remains Nigeria's record scorer with 37 goals in 58 caps.
STAll-time
59 caps · FC Bayern Munich, AS RomaKuffour spent the minutes after the 1999 Champions League final in Barcelona lying face down on the turf, beating the ground with his fists, and Bayern's supporters took him to heart for it. Two years later he played all 120 minutes of the final Bayern did win against Valencia, then scored the goal that beat Boca Juniors in Tokyo, and he collected six Bundesliga titles, four German cups and Olympic bronze with Ghana at 15.
CBAll-time
102 caps · 25 goals · F.C. Lorient, R.C. LensOn 25 October 2009 he scored three against Real Zaragoza, an odd line for a midfielder Barcelona bought to do the covering work. Two Champions League titles in 2009 and 2011, three La Liga championships, two Club World Cups and two Copas del Rey came in four Barcelona years, on top of the Golden Ball at the 1999 World Youth Championship and Mali records of 102 caps and 25 goals, with African bronze in 2012 and 2013.
CMAll-time
112 caps · RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, Centre d'Esports Sabadell Futbol ClubGianluigi Buffon watched him at Italia 90, decided to become a goalkeeper, and later named his first son Louis Thomas after the Cameroonian. He kept clean sheets against Peru and Poland in 1982 as Cameroon went out unbeaten on goals scored, won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1984, took African Footballer of the Year in 1979 and 1982, and reached the 1988 UEFA Cup final with Espanyol.
GKAll-time
118 caps · AS Salé, Wydad Athletic Club · Hall of Fame 2004Three matches in Mexico in June 1986 and one goal past him: goalless against Poland and England, then 3-1 over Portugal, and Morocco walked out of Group F as the first African side to top a World Cup group. He was African Footballer of the Year in 1986, won two Moroccan league titles and three Throne Cups with Wydad Casablanca, took Spain's Zamora Trophy with Mallorca in 1988-89, and was voted Moroccan Footballer of the Year four times.
GKAll-time
88
Kolo Touré 120 caps · Arsenal, Manchester CityHis 2002 Arsenal trial is remembered for a two-footed tackle on Arsène Wenger, who signed him anyway and later called it enthusiasm. The unbeaten 2003-04 season at Arsenal took in 37 of his league appearances, a second Premier League followed with Manchester City in 2012, and 120 caps for Côte d'Ivoire ended with the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, decided 9-8 on penalties against Ghana.
CBAll-time
54 caps · R.F.C. de Liège, 1. FC KölnFernando Hierro's clearing header dropped 25 yards out on 13 June 1998, and Oliseh hit it early and low past Andoni Zubizarreta to beat Spain 3-2. He took Olympic gold at Atlanta 1996 and the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994, won the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund in 2002 and the Eredivisie with Ajax in 1998, added two KNVB Cups and the 1999 Intertoto Cup at Juventus, and finished with 55 caps.
CDMAll-time
Tunisia went a goal down to Mexico in Rosario on 2 June 1978, then scored three after the break with Dhiab in the number 10 shirt directing them, the first World Cup win any African nation had managed. African Footballer of the Year in 1977, the only Tunisian ever to win it, voted his country's greatest player of the twentieth century in 2000, six league titles and four cups with Espérance, and sixteen years in the national side.
CMAll-time
159 caps · Damietta SC, Al Ahly SCOn 25 June 2018, aged 45 years and 161 days, he became the oldest man to play at a World Cup and saved Fahad Al-Muwallad's penalty against Saudi Arabia. Four Africa Cup of Nations titles sit on his record, in 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010, with the best goalkeeper award at the last three, three CAF Champions Leagues and seven league titles with Al Ahly, and 159 caps for Egypt.
GKAll-time
Levante UD, RCD MallorcaSigned as a midfielder in 2000, he was moved to right back to succeed Lee Dixon, and he was still there in May 2005 to score Arsenal's first penalty in the FA Cup final shootout against Manchester United. Two league titles, the unbeaten 2003-04 season among them, three FA Cups, the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002 with the player of the tournament award in 2000, and Olympic gold at Sydney.
RBAll-time
70 caps · Kaizer Chiefs, Leeds United · Hall of Fame 2005When Nelson Mandela came to Leeds in April 2001 to collect the freedom of the city, he stopped in front of Radebe, said "Ah, Mthimkhulu", then turned to the crowd and called him his hero. He won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, captained South Africa at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups over 70 caps, wore the Leeds armband for seven years, and took FIFA's Fair Play Award in 2000.
CBAll-time
SBV Vitesse, Olympique LyonnaisBefore Real Madrid signed him in 2006, Fabio Capello told president Ramón Calderón the squad needed three players: Diarra, Diarra and Diarra. He arrived with four consecutive Ligue 1 titles from his four seasons at Lyon and added La Liga in 2006-07 and 2007-08, having made the Ligue 1 team of the year in 2005-06, and he won 72 caps for Mali, whom he captained, across Africa Cup of Nations campaigns in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2010.
CDMAll-time
115 caps · Wydad Athletic Club, Sporting CP · Hall of Fame 2004At 34 he joined Tottenham for £700,000 and scored his only goal for them in the 4-5 north London derby of November 2004, a volley past Jens Lehmann in a match with nine different scorers. He had already won Deportivo's first La Liga title in 2000, the African Cup of Champions Clubs with Wydad in 1992, a Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups; his 115 Morocco caps across 17 years remain the only century by a Moroccan.
CBAll-time
Rigobert Song 137 caps · FC Metz, R.C. LensSent off against Brazil in 1994 at 17 years and 358 days, he is still the youngest player dismissed at a World Cup, and he took a second red against Chile in 1998. Cameroon's most capped player with 137 appearances, captain of the Africa Cup of Nations winners in 2000 and 2002, holder of the record 35 appearances at that tournament, and a two-time Turkish champion with Galatasaray.
CBAll-time
67 caps · 14 goals · Udinese Calcio, JuventusThe penalty against the United States in Nuremberg on 22 June 2006 came in first-half stoppage time, and Appiah put it away to make it 2-1 and carry Ghana into the last 16 at their first World Cup. Captain through qualifying and the finals, he was named in the team of the 2006 Nations Cup and won the Süper Lig with Fenerbahçe in 2007, the Supercoppa Italiana with Juventus, and the league and cup with Hearts of Oak.
CMAll-time
88 caps · 23 goals · Lille OSC, AS RomaFour minutes into stoppage time against Algeria on 1 February 2015, he took Junior Tallo's pass and finished for 3-1, and three days later he scored again as Côte d'Ivoire beat DR Congo to reach the final. That tournament ended with the Africa Cup of Nations title, and four years earlier he had helped Lille to the first Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in the club's history.
LMAll-time
27 caps · 9 goals · Zamalek SC, Sporting CPArgentina held their offside line one beat too long in the 90th minute of the 1996 Olympic final, and Amunike ran clear to slide Nigeria's winner past Carlos Roa. That gold was Africa's first in football, and he had already scored both goals in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations final against Zambia, the year he was named African Footballer of the Year; Zamalek's 1993 African Cup of Champions Clubs and a Copa del Rey at Barcelona sit alongside.
LMAll-time
Noussair Mazraoui Manchester United, AFC Ajax · Hall of Fame 2022His first Champions League goal came at the Allianz Arena on 2 October 2018, a full back arriving in the box to earn Ajax a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich, the club that signed him four years later. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco in 2025 and reached the 2022 World Cup semi-finals with them, and at club level he has three Eredivisie titles, two Dutch cups, the 2023 Bundesliga and the German Super Cup.
LBAll-time
83
Taye Taiwo 53 caps · Olympique de Marseille, FC Dynamo KyivTwenty-five yards, 84th minute, Port Said, 23 January 2006: Taiwo's free kick beat Ghana 1-0 and was Nigeria's first goal of that Africa Cup of Nations. He won Ligue 1 with Marseille in 2010 along with two French League Cups and a Trophée des Champions, took bronze at that 2006 tournament, and was voted third best player at the 2005 Under-20 World Cup behind Messi and John Obi Mikel.
LBAll-time
Legends of Africa's pool is led by George Weah, Didier Drogba and Mohamed Salah. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 14 midfielders and 6 forwards. George Weah leads the pool at 94 overall. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.