Samuel Eto'o, Mohamed Salah and the 25 best African players of the 21st century so far – ranked

GOAL
Sean Walsh

OpinionM. SalahV. OsimhenS. ManeP. AubameyangA. HakimiR. MahrezK. ToureY. BounouY. En-NesyriFEATURESMoroccoAlgeriaEgyptSouth AfricaSenegalGhanaNigeriaMali

Africa has provided the world with some of football's finest players this century, but who have been the best of the best?

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African football has reached another level since the turn of the millennium. You can find players from the continent scattered all over the world's best and most competitive teams.

The stars of Africa have also given the game some of its defining, iconic moments. Roger Milla and George Weah kick-started the revolution in the 1990s, and their legacies are in good hands even today.

But who are the best African players? Who are the ones most deserving of the world's adoration? As we reach the quarter-mark of the 21st century, GOAL has ranked the top 25 to this point:

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