With the new season well under way and the return of European competitions, as well as the fast-approaching start of the World Cup, there’s never been a better time to see the fans’ favourite footballing stars in competitive action.
These players often transcend the realm of sport and become world-renowned celebrities – but who is the most popular off the pitch?
To find out, Seatpick scoured data surrounding the players in the 20
teams currently competing in the English Premier League, and these are
the results:
The Top 10 most popular African players in the Premier League
1. Mohamed Salah
Team: Liverpool
National Team: Egypt
Followers: 53,100,000
2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Team: Chelsea
National Team: Gabon
Followers: 13,400,00
3. Riyad Mahrez
Team: Manchester City
National Team: Algeria
Followers: 9,300,000
4. Hakim Ziyech
Team: Chelsea
National Team: Morocco
Followers: 6,400,000
5. Mohamed Elneny
Team: Arsenal
National Team: Egypt
Followers: 4,600,000
6.Édouard Mendy
Team: Chelsea
National Team: Senegal
Followed: 2,300,000
7. Kalidou Koulibaly
Team: Chelsea
National Team: Senegal
Followers: 2,200,000
8. Saïd Benrahma
Team: West Ham United
National Team: Algeria
Followers: 2,000,000
(*) 9. Idrissa Gueye
Team: Everton
National Team: Senegal
Followers: 1,800,000
(*) 9. Naby Keïta
Team: Liverpool
National Team: Guinea
Followers: 1,800,000
(*) represents a joint ranking
Seatpick can reveal that the most popular African player currently in the Premier League is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Though far behind Ronaldo’s follower count, the Egyptian King still boasts an astounding
53 million followers. Salah has been an instrumental maestro for the Reds since his club-record signing in 2017, helping to lead them to Premier and Champions League glory with his efforts. Considered one of
the greatest African players of all time, it is no surprise to see him as one of the Premier League’s most popular.
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In second place is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The former Gabon
international has been the centre of a couple headline transfers in
recent times: first from Arsenal to Barcelona, and then back to the
Premier League this year to play for Chelsea. He finishes with 13.4
million followers.
In third place is Riyad Mahrez, with 9.3 million followers. The Algerian
winger helped Leicester City win the Premier League a few years ago, and
is now an important part of Pep Guardiola’s star-studded Manchester City team.
Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, who has recently returned to his international
duties with Morocco, finishes in fourth with 6.4 million followers, and
Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny, the second Egyptian on the list, finishes in
fifth, with 4.6 million.
The rest of the top 10 is dominated by Senegalese players: Chelsea’s Édouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly in sixth and seventh respectively, as well as Everton’s Idrissa Gueye in ninth. West Ham United’s Algerian star Saïd Benrahma finishes in eighth and Liverpool’s Guinea
international Naby Keïta shares ninth spot with Gueye.
