In second place is Salah’s former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mané, ranked 13th worldwide by FIFA. Mané was a crucial force in defeating Salah’s Egypt at the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, bringing glory to his nation of Senegal. Now a key component in a dominant Bayern Munich squad, he is a player which many are excited to see in the upcoming World Cup.
The 10 best current African footballers, according to FIFA
|
Rank |
Player |
National team |
Age |
Club |
FIFA ranking |
|
1 |
Mohamed Salah |
Egypt |
30 |
Liverpool |
6 |
|
2 |
Sadio Mané |
Senegal |
30 |
Bayern Munich |
13 |
|
3 |
Kalidou Koulibaly |
Senegal |
31 |
Chelsea |
37 |
|
4 |
Édouard Mendy |
Senegal |
30 |
Chelsea |
47 |
|
5 |
Riyad Mahrez |
Algeria |
31 |
Manchester City |
52 |
|
6 |
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
Gabon |
33 |
Chelsea |
89 |
|
7 |
Achraf Hakimi |
Morocco |
24 |
Paris Saint-Germain |
98 |
|
8 |
Franck Yannick Kessié |
Ivory Coast |
25 |
Barcelona |
105 |
|
9 |
Thomas Partey |
Ghana |
29 |
Arsenal |
114 |
|
10 |
Joël Matip |
Cameroon |
31 |
Liverpool |
136 |
Mané is followed by two other Senegalese players in the rankings, both of whom play for English Premier League side Chelsea: defender Kalidou Koulibaly, ranked 37th worldwide, and goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, ranked 47th. Whilst Koulibaly is a more recent addition to the West London squad, Mendy has been ensuring Chelsea’s protection in goal for a couple of seasons now, helping them win the UEFA Champions League in 2021. Both players, along with Mané, illustrate the strength of this Senegalese national side going into the World Cup.
A number of other English Premier League stars appear throughout the top 10: Manchester City’s Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez in fifth, Chelsea’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in sixth, Arsenal’s Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey in ninth, and Liverpool’s Cameroonian defender Joël Matip in tenth. Paris Saint-Germain’s Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi (seventh) and Barcelona’s Ivorian midfielder Franck Yannick Kessié (eighth) complete the table.
Other notable findings:
- Of the top 10 best African players in the world, the oldest is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabon international made headlines this past year by moving first from Arsenal to Barcelona, and then back to England to play for Chelsea. He is 33 years old. In contrast, the youngest player in the top 10 is Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, who has been a constant part of an impressive Paris Saint-Germain side. He is 24 years old.
- Of the top 1,000 highest-ranked players in the world according to FIFA, 72 are from Africa. Of the 54 African nations, 21 have at least one player in the top 1,000.
- The African nation with the highest number of players in the top 1,000 FIFA rankings is Ivory Coast, with 10. In second place is a three-way tie between Morocco, Nigeria and Senegal, with 9. They are followed by Algeria, with 8.
Methodology
1. To find out which are the best currently active African footballers, Seatpick used the FIFA 23 Ratings Hub to search for the highest-ranking African players.
2. A table was created to display the top 10 players with the highest rankings, including information about their national team, age, club team, and FIFA rank.
3. All data was collected on 1-11-22 and is accurate as of then but subject to change.
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