African footballers have played key roles in some of the big clubs when winning the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Here, Amakye Ansah takes you through the top 10 African players to have played more matches in the UCL, with four Ivorians, two Ghanaians, one each from Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon and Morocco making up the list.
10. Sadio Mane
Country: Senegalese
Clubs: Liverpool and Bayern Munich
Appearances: 64
Sadio made his debut in the UCL group stage at Liverpool in the 2017-18 season when the Reds drew 2-2 at Anfield against Sevilla, having already played in the qualification phase for Salzburg in the 2014-15 season, where Malmö eliminated them. He later joined Southampton before securing a dream move to Liverpool, where he became the first Senegalese to have won the competition in the 2018-19 season with the Reds. Mane has scored 27 goals and provided seven assists in his Champions League journey. He also twice finished as runner-up with Liverpool when they were beaten in both finals by Real Madrid. Mane played in the UCL in a season for Bayern Munich in Germany after leaving Liverpool in 2022. He scored the consolation goal for Liverpool when they lost 3-1 against Real Madrid in the finals of the 2018 Champions League in Kyiv.
9. Emmanuel Eboue
Country: Ivorian
Clubs: Arsenal and Galatasaray
Appearances: 66
Emmanuel Eboue was one of the best right-backs in the world in his peak years at Arsenal. The talented full back signed for Arsenal from Beveren in Belgium in 2004, where he became an integral part of the Gunners team, and he started in the 2-1 defeat in Paris against Barcelona in the 2005-06 finals. He left Arsenal in 2011 for Galatasaray in Turkey, where he played 18 games in the UCL for the Turkish giants.
8. Kolo Toure
Country: Ivorian
Clubs: Arsenal and Manchester City
Appearances: 67
Kolo Toure signed for Arsenal from Asec Mimosas in the Ivory Coast in 2002. The centre back became a top-notch defender for Arsenal, as he started the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat against Barcelona in the finals in 2006. Kolo Toure left the Gunners in 2009, where he made 61 UEFA Champions League appearances. He played for Manchester City (1), Liverpool (2) and Celtic (3), where he had a combined six appearances for the clubs.
7. Achraf Hakimi
Country: Moroccan
Clubs: Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Dortmund and PSG
Appearances: 68
The Spanish-born Moroccan right back has already won the UCL twice with Real Madrid and PSG in the 2017-18 and the 2024-25 seasons, respectively. Hakimi, alongside Hakim Ziyech and Brahim Diaz, is the only Moroccan to have won the UCL. With 68 appearances made at age 27, Achraf can win more than 100 appearances in the competition. The Moroccan has played for Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and PSG in the competition’s history.
6. Yaya Toure
Country: Ivorian
Clubs: Olympiacos, Barcelona, Manchester City
Appearances: 70
The powerful midfielder won the competition with Barcelona under Pep in 2009 in Rome when the Blaugrana defeated Manchester United, with Toure playing a centre-back role on the night. After making six appearances for Olympiacos in Greece in the competition, the Ivorian joined Barca before signing for Manchester City in 2010, where he went on to become a club legend, playing 37 times for the English giants. Toure played 26 Champions League games for Barcelona.
5. Samuel Osei Kuffuor
Country: Ghanaian
Clubs: Bayern Munich
Appearances: 72
Ghanaian centre back Samuel Osei Kuffour once held this record as the African player to have played the most matches in the UCL history. The dependable defender played for Bayern Munich for 12 years. Kuffuor played all 72 games with Bayern Munich in the UCL, making him the African player who has spent many seasons at one of the biggest clubs in Europe. The Ghanaian won the competition in 2001 after disastrously losing it in 1999 to Manchester United. The 2001 BBC African Footballer of the Year is the African defender to have made more appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and it will take a very long time before anyone can break the record.
4. Michael Essien
Nationality: Ghanaian
Clubs: Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan
Appearances: 76
Essien is the Ghanaian to have played more matches in the UCL. The talented midfielder made a huge name for himself in France with Lyon before joining Chelsea in 2005. Essien eventually won the competition with Chelsea in 2012. The powerful midfielder played 18 games for Lyon, 49 for Chelsea, seven for Real Madrid and two for AC Milan. The Ghanaian was a runner-up in the 2007-08 season when the Blues lost on penalties against Manchester United in Moscow.
3. Samuel Et’o
Nationality: Cameroonian
Clubs: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea
Appearances: 78
The only player on the list to have won a treble with two clubs. The Cameroonian opened the scoring for Barcelona when they beat Manchester United 2-0 in 2009 in the finals before Messi’s header rounded off the beautiful evening for the Spanish side. Eto’o also equalised for Barcelona in the finals when they came back from behind to beat the 10-man Arsenal 2-1 in the 2006 finals in Paris. The Cameroonian also played an integral role in Inter Milan’s triumph over Bayern Munich in Madrid in 2010. Et’o is the only African player to have scored in two different UCL finals. In terms of honours, Eto’o is the greatest African Footballer of all time, arguably, with his two trebles serving as evidence.
2. Didier Drogba
Nationality: Ivorian
Clubs: Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray
Appearances: 92
Drogba led Chelsea to their first UCL title in 2012 after scoring against Napoli, Barcelona and Bayern Munich en route to glory. Drogba was always there whenever the Blues needed any form of lift. The Ivorian powerfully headed in Mata’s corner in the dying embers of the finals in Germany against Bayern Munich to level the score line. Drogba scored the winning penalty for Chelsea. His 92 appearances were overtaken by Mohamed Salah in the current campaign. He scored five Champions League goals for Marseille before joining Chelsea, where he scored 36 for Chelsea and three for Galatasaray in Turkey.
1. Mohamed Salah
Nationality: Egyptian
Clubs: Basel, Chelsea, Roma and Liverpool
Appearances: 93
The Egyptian King has been extremely consistent since he joined Liverpool in 2017 from AS Roma. He is the African player to have played more matches in the UCL history. Mohamed Salah won the competition with Liverpool in 2018-19 and twice finished as runner-up in the 2017-18 and 2021-22 seasons. The forward has scored 49 goals, making him the African with the most goals scored in the competition. Salah is unquestionably one of the players from Africa with a very rich resume in the UEFA Champions League. Salah scored two goals for Basel and one for Roma.
