On 26 December 1995, George Weah became the first African to win the Ballon d’Or. According to L’Équipe, a new ranking charts the top 30 African footballers since then, with episode one covering places 21 to 30.
That year, as borders opened, France Football extended Ballon d’Or voting to players from every continent, not only Europeans. Africa struck immediately with Weah’s triumph.
Weah remains, for now, the continent’s only winner. Only Sadio Mané has reached the podium since, finishing second in 2022 behind a peak Karim Benzema. Some might note Benzema’s father was born in Algeria, yet the France forward is counted as a European winner.
Since Weah, Europeans have taken 12 awards, including five for Cristiano Ronaldo. South Americans have won six, with Lionel Messi holding a record 8. The list is imperfect, and the AFCON in Morocco will soon shake it up.
Some will feel a measure of injustice or detect European bias in the placements or omissions. It is intended above all as a catalog of elite performance at this moment in history. Also cited: André Ayew, Mehi Benatia, Mahamadou Diaz, Brahim Dip, Papa Bouba Dip, Vincent Enyama, Finidi George, Seerhou Guirassy, Asamoah Gyan, Sébastien Haller, Hossam Haller, Victor Ikpeba, Salomon Kalou, Frédéric kanouté, naby keita, Samuel lu, Ademola Lookman, Joël Matip, Sulley Muntari, André Onana, Lucas Radebe, Anthony Yeboah, Hakim Ziyech, etc.
