Top 9 African Greatest Footballers That Retired Without Winning The Africa Cup of Nation
Table of Contents
1- Didier Drogba
He is one of Africa’s all-time best with a rich European profile but he never managed to win the AFCON with Ivory Coast, losing to Zambia in 2012. The 2-time CAF player of the year retired in 2014, just a year before the Ivory Coast won the AFCON.
2- Nwankwo Kanu
Despite emerging African player of the year twice (1996 and 1999), the technically gifted Nigerian could only emerge runner-up in the AFCON in 2000.
3- El-Hadji Diouf
He was named CAF player of the year a couple of times but his individual talent fell short of winning the AFCON. The Senegalese came closest in 2002, losing to Cameroon in the final.
4- Michael Essien: The 2006 BBC African player of the year and Chelsea FC legend could only finish AFCON runner-up with Ghana in 2010.
5- George Weah
Till date he is the only African to have won the prestigious Ballon d’Or. In 1989 and 1995, he was also named CAF player of the year. However, it was always going to be difficult for him on the international scene given the size of his country. Weah could only qualify Liberia for two AFCON editions (1996 and 2002) and on both occasions, the country crashed out in the group phase.
6- Asamoah Gyan
“Baby Jet” holds the record for most World Cup goals scored by an African player (6). The AFCON , however, remained his Achilles heel. The 2010 BBC African player of the year lost two finals (2010 and 2015).
7- Emmanuel Adebayor
The 2008 African player of the year could not lift the AFCON with little Togo. He qualified them for the 2006 edition after emerging top scorer in qualifiers with 11 goals , but the team could not make it out of the group phase.
8- Mustapha Hadji
The furthest the 1998 African player of the year could go with Morocco was the quarterfinals in 1998.
9- Frederic Kanoute
The 2007 African player of the year could only help Mali to the semis in 2004.
