The UEFA Champions League final 2024 throws up a curious question as the season comes to an exciting end.
The UEFA Champions League is by far the most watched club tournament in the world, attracting eyeballs from all over the globe, including Africa, but what has been the impact of African players on the Champions League?
Many great African players have played in the UEFA Champions League final, with some winning and others finishing as losing finalists.
In this piece, we go back 40 years of the tournament to recount how many African players have featured in the UEFA Champions League final.
Africans who featured in the UEFA Champions League final
Bruce Grobbelaar (Zimbabwe) – 1984, 1985
Zimbabwean goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar was in goal for Liverpool in the 1984 UEFA Champions League final and did well for the Reds as they drew 1-1 with Roma before winning 4-2 on penalties.
He didn’t save any penalty but did enough to put the Roma penalty takers off guard as they blazed two over the bar.
Grobbelaar was also in goal for Liverpool the following year, but was not as lucky as they lost 1-0 to Italian side Juventus.
Rabah Madjer (Algeria) – 1987
Porto won its first European trophy when they beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the 1987 UEFA Champions League final.
They had to come from behind to do so, with Rabah Madjer scoring the equalizer in the 77th minute with a cheeky backheel before Jaury sealed the win three minutes later.
Hajry Redouane (Morocco) – 1988
Benfica took on PSV in the 1988 UEFA Champions League final, with Moroccan midfielder Hajry Redouane on the bench.
He came on with eight minutes of extra time left to play but couldn’t change the tide. However, Redouane scored his penalty kick, but they still lost after a 0-0 draw at full time.
Vata Matanu Garcia (Angola) – 1990
Vata came on for Benfica in the 76th minute, but they still lost 0-1 to AC Milan.
Abedi Pele (Ghana) – 1991, 1993
Abedi Pele helped Marseille reach the UEFA Champions League final in 1991 but was unfortunate to be on the losing side as they lost 5-3 on penalties to Red Star Belgrade after a 0-0 draw.
In 1993, Abedi was more fortunate as he led Marseille to a 1-0 win over AC Milan.
Finidi George (Nigeria), Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria) – 1995, 1996
Finidi George played in his first UEFA Champions League final in 1995. He led Ajax to the final, where the Dutch side won its fourth title. Finidi played all 90 minutes.
The former Sharks winger also led the team to the final in 1996 but were unfortunate 4-2 penalty losers after a 1-1 draw.
Nwankwo Kanu started the 1995 final on the bench, but Louis van Gaal brought him on in the 53rd minute, and he helped the Dutch side score the only goal.
Papilo played the whole game in the 1996 final but did not participate in the shootout as Ajax lost to Juventus.
Samuel Osei Kuffour (Ghana) – 1999
Samuel Kuffour played all 90 minutes for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League final. He was close to winning the title—however, Manchester United two late goals to deny them the trophy.
Kuffour was back in 2001 and helped the Bavarians beat Valencia 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Geremi Njitap (Cameroon) – 2000
When Real Madrid took on Valencia in the UEFA Champions League final in 2000, Cameroonian midfielder Geremi Njitap was the only African on both sides. Geremi was an unused sub as Los Merengues won 3-0.
Tony Sylva (Senegal), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) – 2004
Monaco shocked the world when they beat Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna to reach the final, but Tony Sylva and Emmanuel Adebayor were unused subs as they lost 3-0 to Porto.
Benni McCarthy (South Africa) – 2004
Benni McCarthy had a fantastic season with Porto as they reached the UEFA Champions League final, but he was relegated to the bench and came on in the 78th minute with the game already wrapped up.
Djimi Traore (Mali) – 2005
When Liverpool pulled a stunning comeback against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League final 2005, Djimi Traore played the whole game but did not take part in the shootout.
Samuel Eto (Cameroon) – 2006, 2009, 2010
Samuel Eto is the first African to play in the UEFA Champions League final three times (twice with Barcelona and once with Inter Milan).
He is the only African who has played in more than one final to win it all. He scored in the 2-1 win over Arsenal in 2006 and the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in 2009. He led Inter Milan to a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in 2010.
Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast) – 2006
Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue were close to making history with Arsenal as they led Barcelona 1-0 in the final at the Stade de France, but goals from Samuel Eto and Juliano Beletti dashed their hopes.
Michael Essien (Ghana), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), John Mikel Obi (Nigeria) – 2008, 2012
When Cristiano Ronaldo gave Manchester United the lead against Chelsea in the 2008 final, many thought it was over, but Michael Essien scored a powerful equalizer, but it was not enough as they lost 6-5 on penalties.
Chelsea finished the game with ten men as Didier Drogba received his marching orders four minutes from time, while Mikel Obi was an unused sub.
The trio were all winners in 2012, but Essien was an unused sub, and Drogba almost threw the game away after giving away a penalty in extra time as they beat Bayern Munich 4-3 on penalties.
Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) – 2009
Yaya Toure had a fantastic season with Barcelona in 2009, but he played in an unnatural position for Los Blaugrana.
The midfielder was mostly used as a defender by Pep Guardiola as they beat Manchester United 2-0 in the final.
Seydou Keita (Mali) – 2010
The Malian was not a regular for Barcelona but always put in a decent shift. He came on in the 86th minute as Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1.
Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast) – 2012
The Ivorian was part of the Chelsea squad that came from behind to draw Bayern Munich 1-1 in the final and then win 4-3 on penalties.
Thomas Partey (Ghana) -2016
Thomas Partey saw only four minutes of action as he came on in the 116th minute of a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid but lost 5-4 on penalties.
Mehdi Benatia (Morocco), Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana) – 2017
Benatia and Asamoah could do little to stem the tide as their club Juventus, lost 4-1 to Real Madrid in the final in 2017. They were both unused subs.
Sadio Mane (Senegal), Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 2018, 2019, 2022
Mo Salah and Sadio Mane propelled Liverpool to the pinnacle of European football by leading the Reds to the UEFA Champions League final three times.
Unfortunately, they lost two of them to Real Madrid (2018 – 3-1 and 2022 – 1-0), but in 2019 they beat Tottenham 2-0 with Salah scoring a second-minute penalty.
Joel Matip (Cameroon) – 2019, 2022
The Cameroonian defender featured in Liverpool’s 2-0 defeat of Tottenham in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final but was an unused sub when the Reds lost to Real Madrid in 2022.
Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Victor Wanyama (Kenya) – 2022
When Tottenham reached their first and only UEFA Champions League final, losing 2-0 to Liverpool, Serge Aurier was an unused sub, while his fellow African Victor Wanyama suffered the same fate. However, Wanyama became the first Kenyan to reach a final.
Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Cameroon) – 2020
In 2020, Paris Saint Germain reached its first UEFA Champions League final but were losing finalists, as they fell 0-1 to Bayern Munich.
Idrissa Gueye was an unused sub, while Choupo-Moting came on in the 80th minute.
Hakim Ziyech (Morocco) – 2021
Hakim Ziyech was an unused sub when Chelsea won their second Champions League trophy. They beat Manchester City 1-0.
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) – 2021, 2023
Riyad Mahrez had two years of pain in the Champions League. In 2021, Manchester City lost to Chelsea in the final and Real Madrid in the 2022 semi-final, but Mahrez finally landed his hands on the trophy in 2023 when Manchester City beat Inter Milan 1-0.
Naby Keita (Guinea) – 2022
Naby Keita was an unused sub when Liverpool lost 0-1 to Real Madrid in the 2022 final.
Andre Onana (Cameroon) – 2023
The Cameroonian goalkeeper played all 90 minutes as Inter Milan lost by a solitary goal to Manchester City in 2023.
Name | Country | Position | Club | Year | Result |
Bruce Grobbelaar | Zimbabwe | Goalkeeper | Liverpool | 1984 | Won 4-2 pens |
Bruce Grobbelaar | Zimbabwe | Goalkeeper | Liverpool | 1985 | Lost 0-1 |
Rabah Madjer | Algeria | Forward | Porto | 1987 | Won 2-1 |
Hajry Redouane | Morocco | Midfielder | Benfica | 1988 | Lost 6-5 pens |
Vata Matanu Garcia | Angola | Forward | Benfica | 1990 | Lost 0-1 |
Abedi Pele | Ghana | Forward | Marseille | 1991 | Lost 5-3 pens |
Abedi Pele | Ghana | Forward | Marseille | 1993 | Won 1-0 |
Finidi George | Nigeria | Winger | Ajax | 1995 | Won 1-0 |
Finidi George | Nigeria | Winger | Ajax | 1996 | Lost 4-2 pens |
Nwankwo Kanu | Nigeria | Forward | Ajax | 1995 | Won 1-0 |
Nwankwo Kanu | Nigeria | Forward | Ajax | 1996 | Lost 4-2 pens |
Samuel Osei Kuffour | Ghana | Defender | Bayern Munich | 1999 | Lost 2-1 |
Samuel Osei Kuffour | Ghana | Defender | Bayern Munich | 2001 | Won 5-4 pens |
Geremi Njitap | Cameroon | Midfielder | Real Madrid | 2000 | Won 3-0 |
Tony Sylva | Senegal | Goalkeeper | Monaco | 2004 | Lost 3-0 |
Emmanuel Adebayor | Togo | Forward | Monaco | 2004 | Lost 3-0 |
Benni McCarthy | South Africa | Forward | Monaco | 2004 | Won 3-0 |
Djimi Traore | Mali | Left Back | Liverpool | 2005 | Won 3-2 pens |
Samuel Eto | Cameroon | Forward | Barcelona | 2006 | Won 2-1 |
Samuel Eto | Cameroon | Forward | Barcelona | 2009 | Won 2-0 |
Samuel Eto | Cameroon | Forward | Inter Milan | 2010 | Won 2-0 |
Kolo Toure | Ivory Coast | Defender | Arsenal | 2006 | Lost 2-1 |
Emmanuel Eboue | Ivory Coast | Right Back | Arsenal | 2006 | Lost 2-1 |
Michael Essien | Ghana | Midfielder | Chelsea | 2008 | Lost 6-5 pens |
Michael Essien | Ghana | Midfielder | Chelsea | 2012 | Won 4-3 pens |
Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast | Forward | Chelsea | 2008 | Lost 6-5 pens |
Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast | Forward | Chelsea | 2012 | Won 4-3 pens |
Mikel Obi | Nigeria | Midfielder | Chelsea | 2008 | Lost 6-5 pens |
Mikel Obi | Nigeria | Midfielder | Chelsea | 2012 | Won 4-3 pens |
Seydou Keita | Mali | Midfielder | Barcelona | 2010 | Won 3-1 |
Salomon Kalou | Ivory Coast | Forward | Chelsea | 2012 | Won 4-3 pens |
Thomas Partey | Ghana | Midfielder | Atletico Madrid | 2016 | Lost 5-4 pens |
Mehdi Benatia | Morocco | Defender | Juventus | 2017 | Lost 4-1 |
Kwadwo Asamoah | Ghana | Midfielder | Juventus | 2017 | Lost 4-1 |
Mohamed Salah | Egypt | Forward | Liverpool | 2018 | Lost 3-1 |
Mohamed Salah | Egypt | Forward | Liverpool | 2019 | Won 2-0 |
Mohamed Salah | Egypt | Forward | Liverpool | 2022 | Lost 0-1 |
Sadio Mane | Senegal | Forward | Liverpool | 2018 | Lost 3-1 |
Sadio Mane | Senegal | Forward | Liverpool | 2019 | Won 2-0 |
Sadio Mane | Senegal | Forward | Liverpool | 2022 | Lost 0-1 |
Joel Matip | Cameroon | Defender | Liverpool | 2019 | Won 2-0 |
Joel Matip | Cameroon | Defender | Liverpool | 2022 | Lost 0-1 |
Serge Aurier | Ivory Coast | Right Back | Tottenham | 2019 | Lost 0-2 |
Victor Wanyama | Kenya | Midfielder | Tottenham | 2019 | Lost 0-2 |
Idrissa Gueye | Senegal | Midfielder | PSG | 2020 | Lost 0-1 |
Eric Choupo-Moting | Cameroon | Forward | PSG | 2020 | Lost 0-1 |
Hakim Ziyech | Morocco | Midfielder | Chelsea | 2021 | Won 1-0 |
Riyad Mahrez | Algeria | Winger | Manchester City | 2021 | Lost 0-1 |
Riyad Mahrez | Algeria | Winger | Manchester City | 2023 | Won 1-0 |
Naby Keita | Guinea | Midfielder | Liverpool | 2022 | Lost 0-1 |
Andre Onana | Cameroon | Goalkeeper | Inter Milan | 2023 | Lost 0-1 |
This article was most recently revised and updated 9 months ago