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After Europe and South America, no continent has supplemented the football world with world class footballers like Africa has. Some of the modern day greats like Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure and Jay-Jay Okocha are all gems of the African continent.
Africa’s influence on football has been growing over the years although it might not reflect directly. For example, many stars playing for countries like France, Belgium and France are players of African origin who chose to play for their country of birth. The best example of such players is former world’s most expensive player, Paul Pogba.
Nevertheless, there are still numerous players who play for African countries and have also made a significant impact in Europe’s top leagues. One such example is Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City who was named the PFA Player of the Year as his side pulled off an unthinkable title win.
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Mahrez is only one of many top players from Africa who are among the best in the world right now and hence, here is a list of top 10 African players in the world right now.
Honourable mentions: Franck Kessie, Victor Moses, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Medhi Benatia and Vincent Aboubakar
#10. Victor Wanyama - Kenya and Tottenham Hotspur
Kenya’s captain, Victor Wanyama, is a player who has gone from strength to strength in British football over the years. Having joined Celtic in 2011, he made a step up to the Premier League in 2013 with Southampton before following his manager Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham Hotspur in 2016.
Wanyama is a strong, powerful and athletic defensive midfielder who does a brilliant job protecting the centre-backs. His team, Spurs, play a highly offensive brand of football with the fullbacks pushing high up the pitch and it is Wanyama’s towering presence that makes life easy for the defenders.
His ability to break up the opposition's play and win the ball is crucial to Tottenham’s attacking play. Last season in every 90 minutes, he won 1.88 tackles, made 1.11 interceptions and made 2.18 clearances.
At Southampton, Wanyama scored only 4 goals in 97 appearances across 3 seasons, which shows that he doesn’t contribute a lot offensively. However, at Spurs, he scored 5 goals in 47 games in his first season.
#9. Serge Aurier - Ivory Coast and Tottenham Hotspur
Joining Wanyama on this list is his new club teammate Serge Aurier. He was once linked with rivals Arsenal for lengthy periods before he moved to PSG in 2014.
Although Aurier is a terrific player, his off the field actions and temperament have been a subject of controversy quite often and was one of the reasons why PSG gladly let go of him this summer.
The Ivory Coast international is a quick and strong fullback who makes life difficult for opponents up and down the pitch.
Last season, in the French Ligue 1, in every 90 minutes, he won 1.67 tackles, made 1.53 interceptions, 2.41 clearances and created 1.13 chances. These numbers are terrific for a full back and show that he will fit into Pochettino’s plans seamlessly, provided he keeps his antics to himself.
#8. Hakim Ziyech - Morocco and Ajax
Hakim Ziyech might be a name that’s unfamiliar to many fans but is one that is likely to be remembered in the years to come.
Ziyech is a 24-year-old attacking midfielder who plays for Ajax and has turned several heads with his brilliant attacking display.
The Moroccan international was one of the stars of the Ajax team that reached the final of the Europa league last season. In 2016/17, across all competitions, he scored 12 goals and assisted 18. In the league for Ajax alone, he scored 7 goals, assisted 11 and created 101 chances! That’s an amazing 3.9 chances per game!
He has started this season from where he left off last season with 3 goals and 1 assists in four league games so far.
On the international stage, he has represented Morocco 10 times and has scored 7 times. If he keeps up his current performance for both club and country, then it will only be a matter of time before top clubs fight for his signature.
Lest I forget, Ziyech is also a set-piece specialist.
#7. Kalidou Koulibaly - Senegal and Napoli
Koulibaly is one of the few footballers of African origin who was born in France but chose to play for their country of origin.
The Senegalese international started his senior career with Metz in France before moving to Genk in Belgium and eventually signing for Napoli in 2014. It was at Napoli that Koulibaly became the top defender he is today.
The 6ft 5in tall centre-back is a menace for the attackers and his numbers reflect that. Last season in the Serie A, every 90 minutes, he won 1.78 tackles, 2.11 aerial duels, made 2.33 interceptions, 0.98 blocks and also made 4.48 clearances.
If Napoli are to mount a title challenge this season, then the 26-year-old will play a crucial role.
That being said, Koulibaly is a defender in demand with Chelsea rumoured to have bid for him back in 2016. If he keeps up his performance, then Napoli will have a tough task keeping hold of their star.
#6. Naby Keita - Guinea and RB Leipzig
Naby Keita gained worldwide attention this summer after there was intense speculation linking him with a move to Liverpool. Although a move didn’t happen this summer, the Reds agreed on a deal with Leipzig which will see Keita join them in 2018 ahead of the next season.
Liverpool opted to tie up a deal for the player a year ahead to ensure that no other club comes in for a player that has a big future.
The 22-year-old is a midfielder like no other. His work rate, stamina and technical ability make him a huge asset for any team. Considering his age, he will only get better in the years to come.
Keita was voted into the Bundesliga team of the season for 2016/17 with the second highest number of votes - only Robert Lewandowski garnered more votes than the Guinean.
The Leipzig star averaged 2.05 tackles won, 3.05 interceptions and 1.53 chances created per 90 minutes in the league last season! This shows how immensely effective he is at both ends of the pitch. He also had 8 goals and 7 assists to his name last season as he helped Leipzig finish second and qualify for the Champions League.
#5. Riyad Mahrez - Algeria and Leicester City
Riyad Mahrez was one of the stars of Leicester City’s amazing Premier League winning season. In fact, the Algerian was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year for 2015/16.
In addition to the above-mentioned awards, he was also named BBC’s African Footballer of the Year for 2016 for obvious reasons.
Mahrez scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists during Leicester’s fairytale season but he has been unable to find that sort of rhythm and form since. Which is the reason why the 26-year-old currently finds himself 5th on this list.
Last season, despite not being at his best, he still ended the campaign with 10 goals in 48 games. He wanted to leave Leicester for new pastures this summer and Roma made several bids for the player. Despite this, a move never materialized and he was forced to stay at Leicester.
The Algerian winger will be hoping to find the form that made him a sensation a while back in the hope of getting a big move in January or next summer.
#4. Mohamed Salah - Egypt and Liverpool
Mohamed Salah has come a long way from being a Chelsea flop to making a very promising start to life at Liverpool.
The Egyptian winger struggled following his first move to the Premier League, but improved his game massively during his stint in Italy with Fiorentina and Roma.
During his time in Italy, he played 109 games scoring 43 goals. In fact, in the 2016/17 Serie A season, he scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in 31 games. This made him only one of seven players in Europe’s top 5 leagues to finish the league season with 10 or more goals and assists.
He became Liverpool’s and Africa’s most expensive player this summer, but both records will be broken in a year when Naby Keita’s move is completed.
The Egyptian international, who has scored 30 goals in 55 games for his country, has started life at Anfield brightly with 3 goals and 1 assist in 6 games across all competition.
#3. Eric Bailly - Ivory Coast and Manchester United
After Manchester United’s famed partnership of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand ended, they were looking for a centre-back pairing that could take over the mantle. It looks like they have already found one-half of that pair in Ivorian centre-back, Eric Bailly.
Bailly made a switch to the Premier League from Villarreal in 2016 and was probably the least glamorous Manchester United transfer of last summer considering that the other signings were Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba.
However, he proved to be as important and maybe even more impactful than the other players who joined with him.
Bailly has an incredibly fit physique and possesses good acceleration which helps him get ahead of players with ease and intercept the ball. He is also dominant in the air and a good tackler.
The 23-year-old central defender played 38 games last season for Mourinho’s new look Red Devils as they won the FA Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League.
His impressive performance was rewarded with him being named in the Europa League Team of the Season.
#2. Sadio Mane - Senegal and Liverpool
One-half of Liverpool’s fast and furious wingers made this list earlier, now the other half beckons.
Sadio Mane has gone from strength to strength after joining Liverpool and has proved to be an indispensable member of the side. In fact, Liverpool’s drop in form last season coincided with Mane’s absence due to AFCON.
Liverpool’s attacking play and quick counter attacking style suits Mane’s attributes and he fitted into the side like a fish in a pond following his move last summer. He was the most expensive African player when he made the move, but his current teammate Mohamed Salah broke that record this summer.
Mane finished the 2016/17 season as Liverpool’s player of the year thanks to his 13 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. He has started the current campaign brightly with 3 goals in 4 Premier League games while also being named the player of the month for August.
#1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Gabon and Borussia Dortmund
It is baffling as to why no club has signed Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund despite the player often stating that he would like to play elsewhere. As things stand, he is still a Dortmund player and they will be more than happy to keep the Gabonese striker.
The 28-year-old started his senior career at Milan, but only found his feet after his move to Saint-Etienne in 2011. His impressive performances for the Ligue 1 club, which also helped them win the Coupe de la Ligue in 2013, earned him a move to Borussia Dortmund.
Since joining Dortmund in 2013, his career has gone from heights to heights.
He has scored 126 goals in 194 games, won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 and two DFL-Supercups, named African footballer of the year in 2015, named Bundesliga Player of the Year for 2015-16 and finally won the Bundesliga top scorer award in 2016/17 beating his former teammate, Robert Lewandowski.
There is no doubt that the Gabonese striker is the best African player in the world right now.
