There is a rich history of African footballers forging successful careers at Europe's top football clubs dating back to 1970 when Salif Keita -- at the time playing for French club Saint-Etienne -- won the first African Footballer of the Year gong.
Twelve years later former Cameroon goalkeeper Thomas N'Kono became only the second player from outside the African continent to win the Footballer of the Year award while playing for Spanish club Espanyol.
Stars plying their club football in Europe have dominated the African Footballer of the Year accolade since the Confederation of African Football (CAF) started to confer the award in 1992, with Marseille's Abedi Pele the first winner.
That trend has continued with all 28 winners since 1992 playing for European clubs at the time. Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Toure are the most successful players over this period, winning the accolade on four occasions each.
Taking all that into account and more, here follows Betway's list of Africa's five best footballers in Europe over the last 30 years:
Honourable mentions: Nwankwo Kanu, Jay-Jay Okocha, Samuel Kuffour, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Tony Yeboah.
5. Abedi Pele (Ayew) (Ghana)
The best African player in the early 90's, Pele was a global superstar and his legacy lives on until today with sons Andre and Jordan Ayew having both forged successful careers at the highest level.
A legend at French Ligue 1 club Marseille who he helped to the 1993 UEFA Champions League title. Both Andre and Jordan would also go onto represent the club. OM are still the only team from France to have won the Champions League crown.
Club Honours: 2x Ligue 1, 1x UEFA Champions League.
Selected Individual Honours: 3x African Footballer of the Year, 1x BBC African Footballer of the Year.
4. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Like Abedi Pele before him, Drogba really made a name for himself at Marseille before moving to Chelsea where he'd become a club legend by leading the Blues to their only UEFA Champions League crown to date.
A man for the big occasions, Drogba scored the equaliser and decisive penalty in Chelsea's dramatic win over Bayern Munich in 2012, while he also experienced huge success at Galatasaray before returning to Stamford Bridge where he won his fourth and final English Premier League crown in 2015.
Club Honours: 4x English Premier League, 4x FA Cup, 3x Football League Cup, 1x UEFA Champions League, 1x Turkish Super Lig, 1x Turkish Cup.
Selected Individual Honours: 2x African Footballer of the Year, 1x BBC African Footballer of the Year, 2x Premier League golden boot.
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3. Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast)
The best midfielder to emerge from the African continent, Toure enjoyed considerable success in both England and Spain. He helped Barcelona to the UEFA Champions League crown in the 2008-09 season while notably playing the final at centre-back, before joining Manchester City where he's considered a club legend.
While Toure played much of his career as a box-to-box midfielder, his ability in the final third is largely undervalued. The Ivorian is a phenomenal striker of the ball and in the 2013-14 English Premier League season he top scored for City with 20 goals in 35 appearances.
Club Honours: 1x Greek Super League, 1x Greek Cup, 2x LaLiga 1x Copa del Rey, 1x UEFA Champions League, 1x UEFA Super Cup, 1x FIFA Club World Cup, 3x English Premier League, 1x FA Cup, 2x Football League Cup.
Selected Individual Honours: 4x African Footballer of the Year, 2x BBC African Footballer of the Year.
2. George Weah (Liberia)
Widely considered as the best African footballer of all time, the current President of Liberia is until today the only player from the continent to have won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Weah enjoyed successful spells in France, Italy and England and between 1995-1996 only the great Ronaldo could challenge him for the title of Europe's top striker.
Recognised as the best African footballer of the 20th century, Weah was unstoppable on his day and 'That Goal' for AC Milan versus Verona will long live in the memory of every football fan.
Club Honours: 3x Coupe de France, 1x Ligue 1, 1x Coupe de Ligue, 2x Serie A, 1x FA Cup.
Selected Individual Honours: 3x African Footballer of the Year, 1x BBC African Footballer of the Year, 1x Ballon d'Or, 1x FIFA World Player of the Year, 1x FIFA World Player of the Year - Silver award (2nd place).
1. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)
The best African footballer ever and one of the most prolific goal scores in world football over the last few decades, Eto'o largely doesn't get the plaudits he rightfully deserves.
Hugely successful at both club and national level, Eto'o enjoyed unrivalled success in both Spain and Italy and is the only footballer in history to win back-to-back trebles -- having done so with two different clubs.
After winning it all with Barcelona, Eto'o moved to Inter Milan who he immediately helped to the 2010 UEFA Champions League crown. The Cameroon international scored in both the 2006 and 2009 finals for the Catalan giants and was named man-of-the-match after Barcelona's win over Arsenal in Paris.
Club Honours: 3x LaLiga, 2x Copa del Rey, 3x UEFA Champions League, 1x Serie A, 2x Coppa Italia, 1x FIFA Club World Cup.
Selected Individual Honours: 4x African Footballer of the Year, 1x FIFA Wolrd Player of the Year - Bronze award (3rd place), Pichichi Trophy.
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