Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Achraf Hakimi, Serhou Guirassy: Who are Africa's top UEFA Champions League performers?

Zimbabwe international Bruce Grobbelaar became the first player from an African nation to win the world's top club competition, with Liverpool in 1983/84, and plenty more African players have thrived in UEFA competitions since. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) earned three Champions League titles between 2005 and 2010, while Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and Sadio Mané (Senegal) starred as Liverpool added another European title in 2019. More recently, Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) won with Paris in 2025.

Last updated: 20/12/2025

Most appearances by African nationals in the UEFA Champions League (group stage/league phase to final)

93: Mohamed Salah (EGY – Basel, Chelsea, Roma, Liverpool)
92: Didier Drogba (CIV – Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray)
78: Samuel Eto'o (CMR – Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter, Chelsea)
76: Michael Essien (GHA – Lyon, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Milan)
72: Samuel Kuffour (GHA – Bayern München)
70: Yaya Touré (CIV – Olympiacos, Barcelona, Manchester City)
68: Achraf Hakimi (MAR – Real Madrid, Dortmund, Inter, Paris)
67: Kolo Touré (CIV – Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic)
66: Emmanuel Eboué (CIV – Arsenal, Galatasaray)
64: Sadio Mané (SEN – Liverpool, Bayern)

Top-scoring African nationals in the UEFA Champions League (group stage/league phase to final)

48: Mohamed Salah (EGY – Basel, Chelsea, Roma, Liverpool)
44: Didier Drogba (CIV – Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray)
30: Samuel Eto'o (CMR – Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter, Chelsea)
27: Sadio Mané (SEN – Liverpool, Bayern)
20: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB – Dortmund, Chelsea, Marseille)
20: Riyad Mahrez (ALG – Leicester, Manchester City)
18: Serhou Guirassy (GUI – Rennes, Dortmund)
15: Seydou Doumbia (CIV – CSKA Moskva, Basel, Sporting CP)
15: Victor Osimhen (NGR – Lille, Napoli, Galatasaray)
14: Vincent Aboubakar (CMR – Porto, Beşiktaş)

Most appearances by African nationals in UEFA club competition*

Mali's Seydou Keita celebrates a goal for Barcelona in 2012©Getty Images

141: Mohamed Salah (EGY – Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, Liverpool)
114: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB – Lille, Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Marseille)
113: Samuel Eto'o (CMR – Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter, Anji, Chelsea, Everton)
111: Seydou Keita (MLI – Marseille, Lens, Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia, Roma)
102: Didier Drogba (CIV – Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray)
91: Yaya Touré (CIV – Metalurh Donetsk, Olympiacos, Barcelona, Manchester City)
90: Mady Camara (GUI – Olympiacos, Roma, PAOK)
90: Samuel Kuffour (GHA – Bayern München, Roma, Livorno)
90: Kolo Touré (CIV – Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic)
89: Kalidou Koulibaly (SEN – Genk, Napoli, Chelsea)

Top-scoring African nationals in UEFA club competition*

Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o after winning the 2010 Champions League final with InterGetty Images

62: Mohamed Salah (EGY – Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, Liverpool)
59: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB – Lille, Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Marseille)
50: Didier Drogba (CIV – Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray)
48: Samuel Eto'o (CMR – Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter, Anji, Chelsea, Everton)
35: Sadio Mané (SEN – Salzburg, Southampton, Liverpool, Bayern)
35: George Weah (LBR – Monaco, Paris, Milan)
32: Benni McCarthy (RSA – Ajax, Celta, Porto, Blackburn)
31: Frédéric Kanouté (MLI – Lyon, Sevilla)
29: Seydou Doumbia (CIV – Young Boys, CSKA Moskva, Roma, Basel, Sporting CP)
26: Vincent Aboubakar (CMR – Porto, Beşiktaş)
26: Emmanuel Adebayor (TGO – Monaco, Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Başakşehir)

Notable firsts

Chelsea's African pioneer, Derek Smethurst©Getty Images

First African player to win a UEFA club competition
Derek Smethurst (RSA – Chelsea 3-2agg Real Madrid, 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup)

First African player to feature in a UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League final
Abdelkrim Merry (MAR – Bastia 0-3 PSV, 1978)

First African player to win (or feature) in a European Champion Clubs' Cup final
Bruce Grobbelaar (ZIM – Roma 1-1 Liverpool, aet, Liverpool win 4-2 on penalties, 1983/84)

First African player to score in a European Champion Clubs' Cup final
Rabah Madjer (ALG – Bayern 1-2 Porto, 1986/87)

First African player to win the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
Taribo West (NGR – Lazio 0-3 Inter, 1998)

First African player to win the UEFA Conference League
Nayef Aguerd (MAR – Fiorentina 1-2 West Ham, 2023)

Nation-by-nation: Most appearances by African players in UEFA club competition*

Algeria's Sofiane Feghouli in action for GalatasarayANP Sport via Getty Images

Algeria – 66: Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia, West Ham, Galatasaray)
Angola – 25: Manuel Cafumana Show (Ludogorets, Maccabi Haifa)
Benin – 18: Babatounde Bello (Žilina, Spartak Trnava)
Botswana – NONE
Burkina Faso – 72: Charles Kaboré (Marseille, Krasnodar, Dinamo Moskva)
Burundi – 21: Youssouf Ndayishimiye (Başakşehir, Nice)
Cameroon – 113: Samuel Eto'o (Real Madrid, Mallorca, Barcelona, Inter, Anji, Chelsea, Everton)
Cape Verde – 57: Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers)
Central African Republic – 25: Foxi Kéthévoama (Újpest, Kecskemét, Astana)
Chad – 23: Japhet N'Doram (Nantes, Monaco)
Comoros – 57: Ben (Olympiacos, Crvena Zvezda)

DR Congo's Dieudonné Mbokani celebrates a goal for AntwerpAFP via Getty Images

DR Congo – 61: Dieudonné Mbokani (Standard Liège, Anderlecht, Dynamo Kyiv, Antwerp)
Republic of Congo – 44: Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo (Club Brugge, Rapid Wien, Celtic, Başakşehir)
Djibouti – NONE
Egypt – 141: Mohamed Salah (Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma, Liverpool)
Equatorial Guinea – 11: Santiago Eneme (Sparta Praha)Eritrea – 29: Henok Goitom (AIK Solna)
Eswatini – NONE
Ethiopia – 1: Beneyam Demte (Skënderbeu)
Gabon – 114: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Lille, Dortmund, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Marseille)
Gambia – 38: Demba Savage (Honka, HJK, Häcken)
Ghana – 90: Samuel Kuffour (Bayern München, Roma, Livorno)

Guinea's Mady Camara in action for RomaGetty Images

Guinea – 90: Mady Camara (Olympiacos, Roma, PAOK)
Guinea-Bissau – 49: Amadou Diawara (Napoli, Roma, Anderlecht)
Ivory Coast – 102: Didier Drogba (Marseille, Chelsea, Galatasaray)
Kenya – 33: Victor Wanyama (Celtic, Southampton, Tottenham)
Lesotho – NONE
Liberia – 65: Murphy Dorley (Riteriai, Slavia Praha)
Libya – 48: Al-Musrati (Vitória SC, Braga, Beşiktaş, Monaco)
Madagascar – 61: Anicet Abel (CSKA-Sofia, Botev Plovdiv, Ludogorets)
Malawi – 8: Charles Petro (Sheriff)
Mali – 111: Seydou Keita (Marseille, Lens, Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia, Roma)

Mauritania's Beyatt Lekoueiry in action for Lausanne-SportUEFA via Getty Images

Mauritania – 12: Beyatt Lekoueiry (Lausanne-Sport)
Mauritius – 4: Diallo Guidileye (AEL Limassol)
Morocco – 83: Hakim Ziyech (Heerenveen, Twente, Ajax, Chelsea, Galatasaray)
Mozambique – 35: Simão (Panathinaikos)
Namibia – 31: Collin Benjamin (Hamburg)
Niger – 47: Ali Mohamed (Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi Haifa)
Nigeria = 81: Nwankwo Kanu (Ajax, Inter, Arsenal, Portsmouth), Peter Olayinka (Skënderbeu, Zulte Waregem, Slavia Praha, Crvena Zvezda)Rwanda – 37: Mohamed Tchité (Standard Liège, Anderlecht, Racing Santander, Club Brugge)
São Tomé and Principe – NONE

Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly during his time at ChelseaGetty Images

Senegal – 89: Kalidou Koulibaly (Genk, Napoli, Chelsea)
Seychelles – NONE
Sierra Leone – 33: Mohamed Kamara (HJK, Partizan)
Somalia – 8: Liban Abdi (Ferencváros, Haugesund)
South Africa – 77: Benni McCarthy (Ajax, Celta, Porto, Blackburn)
South Sudan – NONE
Sudan – NONE
Tanzania – 56: Mbwana Samatta (Genk, Antwerp, PAOK)
Togo – 82: Emmanuel Adebayor (Monaco, Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Tottenham, Başakşehir)
Tunisia – 43: Karim Haggui (Strasbourg, Leverkusen, Hannover)
Uganda – 46: Ibrahim Sekagya (Salzburg)
Zambia – 37: Edward Chilufya (Djurgården, Midtjylland, Häcken)
Zimbabwe – 41: Costa Nhamoinesu (Sparta Praha)

Zimbabwe's Costa Nhamoinesu in action for Sparta in 2015Getty Images

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*UEFA club competitions means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, European/South American Cup, Finalissima, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup