In the last few years, the rise of Africans in professional football has been astronomical, with a growing presence in the European market.

Some of the biggest names in African football have all received Ballon d’Or nominations in the past, from the likes of Roger Milla, Abedi Pele, Jay-Jay Okocha, Samuel Eto’o, and Didier Drogba just to name a few.

Below is the list of the top 5 African players who have received the best rankings ever in the history of the France Football award, Ballon D’or

1. George Weah

George Weah is the first and to date the only African to have lifted the prestigious Ballon Dor in 1995.

The Liberian won the 1994-95 French Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and also finished as the top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League that same season before moving to AC Milan that summer. Weah also won the FIFA World Player of the Year Award that same year.

2. Sadio Mane

Sadio Mane in 2022 was announced as the runner-up in the Ballon d’Or rankings. The Senegalese was impressive in the 2021-22 season winning the EFL Cup, FA Cup and finishing as runner-up with Liverpool in the Champions League.

For country, Mane guided the Teranga Lions to their first Africa Cup of Nations title in history while securing a World Cup slot for the West Africans.

He was announced as the African Footballer of the Year weeks after moving to German giants Bayern Munich during the summer. He also won the DFL Super Cup with the Bavarians.

It’s still a mystery how Sadio Mane didn’t finish in the top 3 of the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2019.

3. Didier Drogba

Ivory Coast’s all-time top scorer, Didier Drogba, finished 4th in the Ballon d’Or rankings after he guided the Elephants to their first FIFA World Cup in 2006 and also finished as runners-up in the AFCON that same year.

On the club side, Drogba, playing for Chelsea, won the 2006/07 FA Cup, EFL Cup and Premier League golden boot with 20 goals.

4. Samuel Eto’o

Samuel Eto’o finished 5th in the 2009 ceremony after winning the Champions League, LaLiga and Copa del Rey with Barcelona. En route to winning the LaLiga title, Eto’o finished the season with 30 goals, 2 goals shy of the golden boot. The Cameroonian guided the Indomitable Lions to finish as runners-up in the 2008 AFCON where he won top goal scorer of the tournament.

5. Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah finished 5th in the 2022 rankings after winning the FA Cup, EFL Cup Community Shield and was honoured with the golden boot award for finishing top goalscorer of the 2021/22 English Premier League season.

Salah guided the Pharaohs of Egypt to a runner-up place in the AFCON hosted in January of 2022.