African players who came close to Ballon d’Or
George Weah was at his best when he won Ballon d’Or in 1995 and since then, no African player has been able to win the prestigious award. Samuel Eto’o, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have come close in the last two years but the wait goes on. However, who would have won besides Weah?
Abedi Pele Ayew (Ghana/Marseille)
A legend of African football, Abedi Pele Ayew was the first African player to come close to winning the Ballon d’Or even before George Weah.
A pioneer of African footballers in Europe, the former midfielder, now 55, played for clubs in Italy, Switzerland and Germany but it is his spell in France that made him a household name.
Pele played for Lyon and Marseille and it was his spell with the latter that he won the Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League title.
He was named Man of the Match in Marseille’s Champions League win over Milan and was among the highest placed players in the World Player of the Year voting that year.
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Leicester)
The year 2016 was the moment the world was introduced to Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian played a pivotal part as Leicester City stunned the football world by storming to the EPL title when everyone expected them to be fighting relegation.
Mahrez scored 17 goals and was named African Footballer of the Year, BBC African Footballer of the Year, PFA Players’ Player of the Year but missed out on the Ballon d’Or which went to Cristiano Ronaldo, the Algerian finishing seventh in the rankings.
Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon/Barcelona)
The Cameroonian came mightily close in 2005 when he came third in the FIFA World Player of the awards. He is the most decorated African player of all time, having won the African Player of the Year award a record four times (2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010). 
In 2015, he received the Golden Foot Award for his achievements in football. One of the best strikers ever, Eto’o won everything in the game save for the World Cup during is time at FC Barcelona and Inter Milan and is the only African to lift the Champions League three times.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
Like Mahrez, Mohamed Salah was also unleashed to the world in ruthless fashion when he scored an astonishing 44 goals in the 2017/18 season, taking Liverpool to the Champions League final which they lost to Real Madrid.
He won the African Players of the Year Award, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and BBC African Footballer of the Year but fell short on the Ballon d’Or stage where he finished sixth.
He was back again in 2019 after his 27 goals in all competitions led the Reds to Champions League and UEFA Super Cup glory but still missed out, finishing fifth this time.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
Like Mahrez, Mohamed Salah was also unleashed to the world in ruthless fashion when he scored an astonishing 44 goals in the 2017/18 season, taking Liverpool to the Champions League final which they lost to Real Madrid.
He won the African Players of the Year Award, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and BBC African Footballer of the Year but fell short on the Ballon d’Or stage where he finished sixth.
He was back again in 2019 after his 27 goals in all competitions led the Reds to Champions League and UEFA Super Cup glory but still missed out, finishing fifth this time.
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool)
Many believe he deserved more at the 2019 Ballon d’Or gala. The Senegalese winger was by far the best EPL player in 2018/19 when his 26 goals in all competitions led Liverpool to UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup glory as well as runners-up finishes in the EPL and Africa Cup of Nations.
However, Mane did not even make it to the podium as he was fourth after garnering 347 votes and was pipped by eventual winner Lionel Messi (686 votes) with Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk second (679 votes) and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who had 476 votes.
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea )
Didier Drogba has won the African Footballer of the Year award on two occasions (2006 and 2009) and led the Elephants to their first Fifa World Cup in 2006.
Between 2006 and 2010, he could lay claim to be the best striker in the world but despite his continental wins, he was never considered for the Ballon d’Or.
Kanu Nwankwo (Nigeria/Ajax)
Kanu led the U-23 national team to win the continent’s first gold medal in the Summer Olympic men’s football tournament in 1996 in Atlanta, USA.
He won the African Footballer of the Year award twice in 1996 and 1999 but never claimed the Africa Cup of Nations title with the Super Eagles.
He could have won the award in 1996 given his achievements with Nigeria and Ajax 1996 where he won the UEFA Champions League were it not for a certain Germany legend called Mathias Sammer.
Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Man City)
Many critics claim if Yaya Toure were not African he could have been given more recognition. He was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
He could have been named the best player in the world in 2012 when he was totally dominant but a certain Lionel Messi was just too good that period.
Hossam Hassan (Egypt/Al Ahly & Zamalek)
With 170 caps for Egypt, Hossam Hassan is definitely Africa’s greatest player of his generation. He briefly left Africa to play for clubs such as Greece’s PAOK Thessaloniki and Switzerland’s Neuchatel Xamx FC.
Retired at the age of 40, Hassan amassed an impressive array of titles, including three African Nations Cups (1986, 1998, and 2006), the only player to do so.
In addition, Hassan has an African Champions League title and 11 Egyptian league championships under his belt.Again, he is the only player to do so. But Ballon d’Ors is only for European powerhouses.
El Hadji Diouf (Lens/Senegal)
He may be viewed as one of the biggest flops in Premier League history, having spat on a supporter, alienated his team-mates and fallen out with various managers during a bitter, animosity-filled career, but in 2002, the world was truly his oyster.
Having been unleashed at the 2002 World Cup, Diouf produced several stellar performances for the Senegal national side as they reached the quarter-finals.
The Lens forward was also part of the Senegal team who finished runners-up to Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations but it was good enough to win Ballon d’Or as he tied with compatriot Papa Boupa Diop and Rio Ferdinand with two votes.
