The African continent is well represented in the UEFA Champions League winners’ list and a total of 26 African players have lifted the prestigious trophy at their clubs.
Ahead of Saturday’s final between Inter Milan and Manchester City which could see either Cameroon’s Andre Onana or Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez emerge victorious, Afrosport ranks African countries by the number of winners they have produced.
Ghana – 5
Abedi Pele was part of the victorious Marseille squad in 1993 followed by Ibrahim Tanko’s success at Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Samuel Kuffour also had a taste in 2001 with Bayern Munich.
Sulley Muntari is another Ghanaian legend who lifted the European trophy at Inter Milan in 2010, followed by Michael Essien at Chelsea two years later.
Ivory Coast – 3
Yaya Toure became the first Ivorian to lift the Champions League title during his time at Barcelona in 2009 while Salomon Kalu and Didier Drogba played remarkable roles in helping Chelsea conquer Europe for their first Champions League title in 2012.
Nigeria – 3
Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George gave Nigerians their first taste of European glory with Ajax’s triumph in the 1995 final match against AC Milan. John Obi Mikel was also part of the Chelsea squad that won the club’s first Champions League title in Munich 2012.
Cameroon – 3
Geremi lifted the Champions League trophy twice at Real Madrid, Samuel Eto’o went further to win the competition thrice (two at Barcelona and one at Inter Milan) and Joel Matip got the winners’ medal for Liverpool’s success in 2019.
