Mane vs Salah vs Eto'o vs Drogba — African football legend ranks greatest players

Black Stars legend Asamoah Gyan ranked four of Africa’s best attackers — Eto’o, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Didier Drogba — in terms of quality and greatness, putting his knowledge of African football and taste in forwards to the test.

Gyan is as credible as anyone making such a list, and his ranking carries weight because he is one of the defining African strikers of his generation. The former Ghana captain remains Africa’s all-time top scorer at the FIFA World Cup with six goals, scored across three tournaments (2006, 2010, 2014), and is Ghana’s all-time leading scorer with 51 international goals in 109 caps.

That pedigree underpins the former Rennes man’s authority in making such a ranking. He named Samuel Eto’o first, as the best among the lot, Didier Drogba second, Sadio Mané third and Mohamed Salah fourth among African greats.

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Gyan placed Samuel Eto’o first due to his preference for the Cameroon great’s playing style and the quality he exudes. Still, it is an objective choice, as Eto’s resume is unmatched: four CAF Player of the Year awards (2003, 2004, 2005, 2010), two AFCON titles with Cameroon (2000, 2002), and three UEFA Champions League titles, two with Barcelona (2005/06, 2008/09) and one with Inter Milan (2009/10), alongside 56 goals in 118 caps for Cameroon. 

He ranked Drogba second. Although the former Galatasaray man does not have an AFCON title to his name, his transformational impact at Chelsea, where he won four Premier League titles (2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10, 2014/15) and famously scored and converted the decisive penalty in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final, ensures he will always have a place on these lists.

Sadio Mané placed third on Gyan’s list. Mané’s claim to inclusion in lists such as this is his combined success at club and international level with the Teranga Lions of Senegal. He won the UEFA Champions League and  Premier League titles with Liverpool and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. He led Senegal to their first AFCON title in 2021 and now stands one title away from matching Eto’o’s AFCON tally should Senegal defeat Morocco in the final of the ongoing  Cup of Nations. 

Mohamed Salah ranked fourth. He boasts extraordinary consistency and numbers, winning three Premier League Golden Boots, two Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and over 200 goals for Liverpool. Like Drogba, he is a losing AFCON finalist and has yet to taste continental glory.