The 5 highest scoring African players in the history of Europe’s big five leagues: Salah third…
Former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea stars are among the five highest-scoring African players in the history of Europe’s big five leagues.
Africa has produced some of the greatest goalscoring forwards of all time, many of whom spent their peak years playing in the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
We’ve taken a closer look at the record books and have found the five African players with the most goals in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.
5. Salif Keita – 158 goals
Narrowly edging out the likes of Didier Drogba and George Weah, Keita claims a spot in the top five with 158 goals in Europe’s major leagues.
The Maili international spent his peak years playing for Saint-Etienne in the late sixties and early seventies, but he also enjoyed stints with Marseille and Valencia too.
Of the 158 goals that he scored, 135 of them came in Ligue 1 while the remaining 23 were scored in La Liga.
4. Hassan Akesbi – 173 goals
The Moroccan forward spent the majority of his career playing in France and scored the bulk of his goals for Nimes and Reims between 1955 and 1963.
Unsurprisingly, Akesbi holds the record as the highest-scoring African player in Ligue 1 history. On the overall charts, only 11 players in the history of the French top flight have scored more goals than the Moroccan.
READ NEXT: The 5 players with the best 100% penalty record in the Premier League: Palmer 2nd…
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 30 highest-scoring African players in Premier League history?
3. Mohamed Salah – 205 goals
Totting up the league goals Salah has scored for Chelsea, Fiorentina, Roma and Liverpool, his overall tally currently sits at 205.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of those goals have come during his time at Anfield. In total, he’s scored 168 league goals for Liverpool which is 81.9% of his overall tally.
Given the rate he’s still scoring at today, it seems more than likely that Salah will end his career with more goals than any other African player in the history of Europe’s top five leagues.
During 2024-25, the Egyptian marksman has averaged a strike every 94.6 minutes and is currently on track to win yet another Golden Boot.
His long-term future at Anfield is still up in the air given his contract situation, but Salah currently seems more focused than ever on making a difference in the final third.
2. Samuel Eto’o – 209 goals
While Salah will likely overtake Eto’o in the coming weeks, his tally of 209 goals certainly isn’t to be sniffed at.
Eto’o’s record is especially impressive when you consider that he spent several years playing outside of Europe’s top five leagues during his stints in Russia, Turkey and Qatar.
The Cameroon legend was at his most prolific during his Barcelona days where he scored 108 La Liga goals in just 144 appearances.
In total, he scored 162 goals in Spain, 35 in Italy and 12 in England too. With that sort of record, there can be no doubt that he ranks among the greatest African footballers of all time.
QUIZ: Can you name all 13 clubs Samuel Eto’o played for in his career?
1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 236 goals
Given some of the legendary African players that have gone before him, it may come as a surprise to learn that Aubameyang has scored more goals across Europe’s top five leagues than any other player from his continent.
Having enjoyed prolific spells with the likes of Saint-Etienne, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Barcelona, he’s scored goals at virtually every club he’s played for.
Of his 236 strikes, 41.5% were scored in Germany, 29.2% in England, 24.6% in France and 4.7% in Spain.
Given the 35-year-old is now playing in Saudi Arabia, it seems more than likely that Salah will eventually surpass his tally of 236 goals if he stays in Europe for a couple more years.