Ballon d’Or ranking: Osimhen, Lookman among Africa’s top 20 all-time finishers

Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman have both secured places among the most successful African footballers in Ballon d’Or history.

The prestigious individual award has recognised some of the continent’s finest talents since France Football opened the competition to players of all nationalities in 1995. However, only one African has won the men’s Ballon d’Or, with Liberia’s George Weah achieving the historic feat in his first year of eligibility.

Recently, Mohamed Salah and Achraf Hakimi boosted Africa’s presence in the rankings. Salah finished 4th in 2025, while Morocco international Hakimi was placed 6th after helping Paris Saint-Germain win the Champions League.

Here, Afrik-Foot ranks 20 African footballers according to their highest-ever Ballon d’Or finish, including the achievements of Osimhen and Lookman.

Note that in this list, each player appears once, ranked by their best-ever finish. We show their best position and year.

Ballon d’Or: Africa’s 20 best-ever individual finishes

The ranking below uses each player’s best position in the men’s Ballon d’Or voting. Players with the same best finish share the same ranking tier.

1. George Weah (Liberia) — 1st, 1995: The former AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain striker remains the only African winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or.
2. Sadio Mané (Senegal) — 2nd, 2022: Mané came closest to matching Weah when he finished runner-up to Karim Benzema.
3. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) — 4th, 2007: The Chelsea legend reached fourth place after another outstanding year for club and country.
4. Mohamed Salah (Egypt) — 4th, 2025: Salah became the highest-ranked African in the 2025 voting, collecting 657 points.
5. Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) — 5th, 2009: The former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker finished fifth after helping Barcelona win the treble.
6. Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) — 6th, 2025: Hakimi finished sixth following a trophy-laden season with Paris Saint-Germain.
7. Riyad Mahrez (Algeria) — 7th, 2016: The winger earned seventh place after playing a leading role in Leicester City’s historic Premier League title triumph.
8. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) — 8th, 2023: Osimhen became the first Nigerian man to finish inside the Ballon d’Or top 10 after scoring 26 Serie A goals as Napoli won the league title.
9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) — 11th, 2016: His prolific season with Borussia Dortmund earned him a place just outside the top 10.
10. Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria) — 11th, 1996: The former Ajax forward was recognised after a memorable year that included Nigeria’s Olympic football gold medal. In the same year, Kanu led Ajax to the UEFA Champions League final.
11. Frédéric Kanouté (Mali) — 11th, 2007: The Sevilla forward was rewarded for his contribution to the Spanish club’s successful campaign. He led his club to a UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey double
12. Yaya Touré (Ivory Coast) — 12th, 2012, 2013 and 2015: The Manchester City midfielder was a regular presence in the rankings during his peak years, although he argued that he should’ve been ranked higher in some of those years.
13. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) — 12th, 2008: The former Arsenal striker reached his career-best position during his productive spell in English football. He scored 24 Premier League goals for Arsenal and was later named the African Footballer of the Year.
14. Ademola Lookman (Nigeria) — 14th, 2024: Lookman earned recognition after scoring a hat-trick in Atalanta’s Europa League final victory over Bayer Leverkusen and helping Nigeria to a second-place finish in the AFCON 2023 tournament.
15. Asamoah Gyan (Ghana) — 18th, 2010: Gyan’s performances for Ghana and his club career earned him a place in the 2010 rankings.
16. Finidi George (Nigeria) — 21st, 1995: The former Ajax winger helped Ajax to a UEFA Champions League win in the 1994/95 season, scoring nine goals and providing 11 assists.
17. El-Hadji Diouf (Senegal) — 21st, 2002: His performances during Senegal’s remarkable World Cup campaign helped raise his international profile, and he was tied with Papa Bouba Diop and Rio Ferdinand with 2 points.
18. Papa Bouba Diop (Senegal) — 21st, 2002: The midfielder shared the same position as Diouf after Senegal reached the World Cup quarter-finals.
19. Michael Essien (Ghana) — 22nd, 2005: The former Chelsea midfielder was recognised during his rise among Europe’s leading midfielders. Essien holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or nominations by a Ghanaian player (three consecutive years from 2005 to 2007).
20. Anthony Yeboah (Ghana) — 23rd, 1995: The former Eintracht Frankfurt and Leeds United striker received votes in the year of Weah’s historic triumph. His 1995 recognition made him the first Ghanaian player to receive Ballon d’Or votes. In other individual global awards during his peak, he finished 9th in the 1993 FIFA World Player of the Year voting.

Osimhen and Lookman lead Nigeria’s Ballon d’Or story

Osimhen’s eighth-place finish remains the best by a Nigerian man in the award’s history. His 2023 ranking followed a standout season with Napoli, where his goals helped the club win its first Serie A title in 33 years.

Lookman followed in 2024 after a memorable campaign with Atalanta. His hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final secured the club’s first major European trophy and helped him become the first Nigerian since Osimhen to earn a place on the men’s Ballon d’Or shortlist.

Although neither Nigerian made the 2025 top 30, their finishes remain significant milestones for the country’s football history.

Salah’s fourth-place finish and Hakimi’s sixth-place result in 2025 also demonstrate that African players continue to challenge for the award’s highest positions.

For now, however, Weah’s 1995 triumph remains unmatched. Mané’s second place in 2022 is still the closest any other African has come to winning the men’s Ballon d’Or.

The achievements of Osimhen, Lookman, Salah and Hakimi offer fresh reasons to believe that the continent can produce another serious contender in the years ahead.