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The Serie A has been a popular stomping ground for African players, with as many as 27 different African nations currently plying their trade in the Italian top flight.
Five most prolific African goal-scorers in the Serie A
Some African players have achieved a lot of success in the Serie A, with a few also going on to win continental honours and the Ballon d'Or award.
On that note, let's have a look at five African players with the most goals in Serie A history:
#5 Keita Balde (Senegal) - 36 goals
Keita Balde has scored 36 Serie A goals, doing so with Lazio, Inter Milan and Sampdoria; Balde is currently playing his sixth season in the competition.
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After coming through Barcelona's youth academy, the Senegalese ended up at Lazio in 2012, where he broke into their first team in 2013 as a promising young winger.
Balde didn't score many goals until his fourth season before coming of age by netting 16 Serie A goals. His prolific partnership with Ciro Immobile helped the Eagles to a fifth-place finish in 2017.
Impressed by his exploits, AS Monaco secured his services that summer. After failing to impress at the Ligue 1 club, Balde returned to Italy a year later but is yet to rediscover his mojo.
#4 Mohamed Kallon (Sierra Leone) - 39 goals
One of the most travelled players in recent history, Mohamed Kallon has played for 19 different teams in a career spanning 18 years.
His long list of clubs includes a plethora of Serie A teams - Bologna, Cagliari, Reggina, Vicenza, Inter Milan,and Genoa, the only side with whom he played in the Serie B for a season.
In the Serie A, Kallon scored 39 goals from 125 games, with the most prolific spell coming for the Nerazzurri with 14 across two stints.
His best Serie A campaign came with newly-promoted Reggina in the 1999-00 season, with Kallon netting 11 goals.
Kallon is one of only four Sierra Leone players to have graced the Serie A.
#3 Khouma Babacar (Senegal) - 39 Serie A goals
Khouma Babar has scored 39 goals and registered 14 assists in 166 Serie A games.
The talented Senegalese striker has made a name for himself at Fiorentina, where he has spent the bulk of his relatively young career.
His first stint at the Serie A club didn't yield too many goals. But after a few loan spells in the Spanish La Liga and the Serie B, the striker returned to Florence in 2014 and established himself in the side.
In the next four seasons, Babacar scored 27 Serie A goals from 99 games. But he managed only 12 in his next 67 with Sassuolo and Lecce, even enduring relegation with the latter in 2020.
#2 Gervinho (Ivory Coast) - 39 goals
Remember Gervinho - the player with long dreadlocks and a bandana? Well, his Serie A scoring exploits weren't as shabby as his hairstyle.
Gervinho, who scored 39 Serie A goals, first rose to fame after arriving at Arsenal in 2011 after a breakout campaign with Lille. But the Ivory Coast star failed to replicate those exploits in the Premier League before moving to AS Roma.
Gervinho found some form at the Roman club, netting 17 Serie A goals from 71 appearances. Following two forgettable spells in China, he returned to the Serie A with Parma in 2018.
Since then, he has scored another 22 goals in the Italian top flight, which includes a career-best tally of 11 to help the Crusaders avoid relegation from the Serie A.
#1 George Weah (Liberia) - 46 goals
Long before he became the president of Liberia, George Weah was a highly successful footballer; he was regarded as one of Africa's greatest ever players too.
After some impressive spells with local clubs, the former striker made his name with his imperious exploits in France with AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain during seven memorable seasons.
AC Milan came swooping for the services of the Liberian in 1995, the year he won the Ballon d'Or award. Weah helped the Rossoneri to two Serie A titles in five seasons, scoring 46 times in 114 games.
His impact was such that AC Milan inducted him into the club's Hall of Fame. The International Federation of Football History and Statistics rated George Weah as the African player of the century.
