It seems every season there is a budding new African star waiting in the wings to establish their legacy on Europe's biggest stages, so we decided to take a look at those who have cemented their legend by becoming the all-time top goalscorers from the continent in each of Europe's top five leagues.
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Premier League: Mohamed Salah
No division in Europe has been graced with as many world-class African talent as England's top flight. Most of the continent's greatest-ever players plied their trade in the Premier League at some point in their careers. The likes of Didier Drogba, Yakubu, Emmanuel Adebayor and Yaya Toure were all prolific in the EPL, but no African footballer has scored at a better rate there than Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has been talismanic since returning to the league with Liverpool, having scored the 144 of his 146 Premier League goals while playing for the 19-time champions. Only Thierry Henry has more than his three Golden Boot award wins in the competition too.
LALIGA: Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o is another African legend who played in the EPL, but he undoubtedly did his best work in the Iberian Peninsula. LALIGA and the Cameroon icon seemed a match made in heaven as he was able to find the back of the net 162 times in 280 appearances in Spain's top division. Like Salah in England, Eto'o struggled during his initial introduction to Spain, but after his stints at Mallorca and Barcelona, the Douala native established himself as one of the greatest players to ever play in the league.
Serie A: Victor Osimhen
While Salah and Eto'o are already regarded as legends of the beautiful game, a player who is still etching his name into the history books in Nigeria's Victor Osimhen. The striker is only 24 years old, but his tally of 56 goals is the most by any African footballer to grace Serie A. The Lagos native usurped the last-ever African to win a Ballon d'Or, George Weah, last season, en route to capturing the league's Golden Boot award. He capped off his goalscoring accomplishment by helping Napoli win their first league title in 33 years, and has continued his good form in the new campaign, with six goal contributions in 10 games already.
Bundesliga: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
While 2023 might be the year Osimhen gets his hands on his first CAF Men's Player of the Year award, this is an award that the Bundesliga's most prolific African marksman already has in his cabinet. Having won it in 2015, his name is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Despite playing for the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, it was in the German top flight where he made his name. The Gabon international seamlessly succeeded Robert Lewandowski at Borussia Dortmund as he went on to score a ridiculous 98 goal in just 144 appearances during his time with BVB.
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Ligue 1: Hassan Akesbi
After spells in England and Spain, Aubameyang finds himself back in Ligue 1 with Olympique Marseille, in a nation where another African star found tremendous success way before his time. Morocco legend Hassan Akesbi played in the French top division from 1955 until 1965, representing the likes of Nimes Olympique, Stade Reims and, perhaps most notably, AS Monaco. During his 10 years in the league, he scored a remarkable 139 goals.
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