Man City vs Liverpool: Who are their greatest African players?

Manchester City pulled off a coup when they recruited Algeria’s Benarbia from Paris Saint-Germain in 2001, with the North African having won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award two years previously.

He was influential as the Sky Blues won promotion to the Premier League under Kevin Keegan, but struggled to impose himself in the top flight.

He also represented AS Monaco, Bordeaux and Martigues, and was named Algerian footballer of the year in 2002.

Bony was previously Africa’s most expensive player ever, costing Manchester City £28 million when he moved from Swansea City at the beginning of 2015.

However, he struggled for game time due to injuries and increased competition from Sergio Aguero and Iheanacho, and departed on a season-long loan to Stoke City on transfer deadline day as his Etihad Stadium career came to an end.

He subsequently moved back to Swansea City, and is currently with Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen.

Adebayor has often been a polarising figure in world football.

It seems that, as soon as he starts to get the fans on his side, he does something that conjures up the ire of his supporters.

He has represented a host of high-profile clubs, including Spanish giants Real Madrid and Arsenal, among others, and departed the Gunners for Manchester City in 2009 for a fee believed to be about £25 million, making him, at one point, Africa’s most expensive player.

He remained at the Etihad Stadium until 2011, when he joined Tottenham Hotspur.

The Zimbabwe stopper is remembered as one of Africa’s finest goalkeepers in history…and is certainly the most successful.

He was a key man in one of Liverpool’s greatest sides, winning six titles and three domestic cups during his time at Anfield.

He was influential as the Reds won the European Cup in 1984, putting AS Roma’s strikers off with his infamous bandy legs in the final shootout.

Toure was a part of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ squad that went on a 49-game unbeaten run in the 2003-04 season.

He was a solid and commanding presence in the heart of defence, and, in 2009, moved to Manchester City at the height of his powers, spending four years there.

He was one of the first pieces that were put together to form the dominant City outfit to which we have become accustomed, and also moved onto Liverpool – representing the Reds and Celtic before hanging up his boots.

The ex-centre-back is currently Leicester City assistant manager under his ex-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

One of the greatest African players of all time, Mahrez built on his major contribution to Leicester City’s miraculous Premier League title success in 2016 by carving out a remarkable career for himself at City.

He has won two further PL crowns – with a third potentially coming this season – as well as five further honours.

The Champions League final defeat by Chelsea last year was a bitter blow, although Mahrez was an African champion with Algeria in 2019.

Since moving to Liverpool from Southampton, Mane has proved that he firmly belongs at one of the world’s major clubs.

He was the Reds’ Player of the Season during his first season, despite missing the end of the campaign due to injury and being absent during the Africa Cup of Nations, and was influential as they reached two Champions League finals, winning the title in 2019.

After winning the Golden Boot with 22 goals, Mane clinched a Premier League winner’s medal in 2020, and is a bona fide legend at Anfield.

He’s also beloved among Senegal fans, having struck the decisive penalty earlier this year as the Teranga Lions won their first ever Nations Cup title.

Salah has been one of the continent’s outstanding individuals in recent years, and is a two-time Caf African Footballer of the Year.

The forward has broken records aplenty at Anfield, winning the Premier League and Champions League in the process, and became Africa’s all-time top scorer in the top flight when he eclipsed Didier Drogba earlier this season.

Can Salah get his hands on another Prem or European title before the end of the year?

Weah has done what most African players can only dream of: win the Ballon d’Or.

The three-time African Footballer of the Year, nicknamed King George, moved to Manchester City when he was 34 years old, after a loan spell at Chelsea.

The Liberia president joined the Citizens towards the end of an illustrious career in world football, and was unable to produce the goods, leaving the club only three months after joining.

He made seven appearances for the Manchester club, scoring only one goal.

Toure is one of the most decorated Africans to have graced the game in recent memory, having won everything from the Uefa Champions League to domestic titles in Spain and England, as well as continental honours with Ivory Coast.

He boasts a CV that speaks volumes of his talent and he is undoubtedly one of Manchester City’s best signings ever.

After initially being overlooked by Guardiola in the Premier League, Toure fought back to recapture a key role for the Citizens, and was rewarded with a contract extension.