The 20 African footballers who outscored Drogba

Ayegbeni Yakubu

No striker outscored Drogba more consistently than The Yak, who remains one of the Premier League’s most underrated African imports.

In both the 2004-05 and 2005-06 season he netted more than the Chelsea forward—the only African player to do so—when he scored 12 and 13 to Drogba’s 10 and 12 respectively.

It was the same story in the 2007-08 season, when Yakubu scored 15 to Drogba’s eight, and in the 2011-12 campaign, when the frontman scored 17 to Drogba’s five.

Emmanuel Adebayor

The Togo frontman also outscored Drogba across several campaigns.

In both 2007-08 and 2008-09, the Togo frontman netted more than the Ivorian great; 24 and 10 to Drogba’s eight and five respectively.

In both seasons, Ade was African’s top scorer in the Prem.

Benni McCarthy

Equalling Adebayor on 10 goals in the 2008-09 campaign was South Africa’s McCarthy, who was still enjoying his final hurrah at Blackburn Rovers before things declined at West Ham United.

In the 2006-07 season, he netted 18 goals—his best return in England—but was outgunned by The Drog.

Benjani

One of the few Zimbabwe internationals to have tried his hand in England—alongside the likes of Bruce Grobbelaar, Peter Ndlovu and Marvelous Nakamba—Benjani netted an impressive 15 goals during the 2007-08 season.

It was a superb haul for the Portsmouth man, although he was unable to recreate that goalscoring form with Manchester City.

Obafemi Martins

Four Nigerians have outscored Drogba in the Prem, with Martins doing so in both 2007-08 (nine goals) and 2008-09 (eight goals).

The striker impressed in England for both Newcastle United and Birmingham City, unforgettably winning the League Cup with the latter.

Peter Odemwingie

Another Nigerian who scored more that Drogba in a single season was Odemwingie, who bagged an impressive 15 goals in the 2010-11 campaign.

In this campaign, the West Bromwich Albion hitman was the only frontman to bag more than the Ivorian, although he also repeated the feat the season after when he scored 10 to Drogba’s five.

Victor Moses

Also in the 2011-12 campaign, Moses became the final Nigerian to net more than Drogba when he scored six to the striker’s five.

These were during the wideman’s Wigan Athletic days, and his fine goalscoring form would earn him a move to join Drogba at Chelsea.

Yaya Toure

The other Ivorian to bag more goals than Drogba over the course of a Premier League season is Yaya, another of the players still standing in the African Legends Cup of Nations.

The midfield powerhouse outscored his compatriot with six goals and then 10 goals in the 2011-12 and 2014-15 seasons, although Drogba had moved away from the Prem in the 2013-14 campaign, when Toure enjoyed his best goal return.

Mido

In the 2008-09 season, Drogba’s modest return of five goals was eclipsed by two Egyptian players!

The first was Mido, who scored six across the season across spells with Middlesbrough and then on loan at Wigan.

Amr Zaki

The second Egyptian who netted more than Drogba that campaign was Zaki, another Pharaohs international, who enjoyed an unforgettable start to live in England.

The powerful frontman scored 10 on loan at Wigan, but never built on that promise, struggling to replicate his impressive form while on loan at Hull City.

Stephane Sessegnon

Sessegnon is remembered fondly for some moments of excellence with both Sunderland and The Albion, although some may argue that he didn’t demonstrate his quality consistently enough.

He did in the 2011-12 season, however, when he netted seven goals from midfield in his first full campaign with the Black Cats after signing from Paris Saint-Germain.

Demba Ba

Another striker who would also play at Stamford Bridge, Ba was Africa’s third highest score in the 2011-12 season when he bagged 16 for Newcastle across the campaign, having previously impressed for West Ham.

Ba would move to Chelsea in 2012—replacing Galatasaray-bound Drogba—and then moved to Turkey with Besiktas in 2014 when the Ivorian returned to West London.

Papiss Demba Cisse

Twice, Cisse outscored Drogba in the Premier League—with the Senegal international netting 13 in the 2011-12 season, and 11 in the 2014-15 campaign.

These two excellent returns came either side of a disappointing drought for Newcastle as the former SC Freiburg man struggled to build on his early promise.

Mame Biram Diouf

A surprising name on this list, perhaps, considering he later remodelled himself as a full-back, Biram Diouf was actually a lethal presence in the Prem once upon a time.

He scored 11 goals in the 2014-15 season—the same as Papiss Cisse—although he’s struggled to replicate those numbers since, netting just 12 across his next three Prem seasons with Stoke City combined.

Dame N’Doye

Remarkably, five Senegalese players outscored Drogba in the 2014-15 seasons, which was testament, perhaps, to the limited impact the Ivorian had.

N’Doye left the smallest impact in the English game, as his five-goal stay with Hull City was brief, and he was soon on his way to Trabzonspor.

In 2016, he returned on loan to Sunderland.

Diafra Sakho

Like Cisse, Sakho was lethal upon his arrival in the Prem, but faded thereafter, with injuries and fitness concerns affecting his form.

He bagged 10 for West Ham in the 2014-15 season, but only eight across the next three seasons combined.

Sadio Mane

The final Senegalese player to outscore Drogba in 2014-15 is Mane, who scored 10 during his debut campaign at Southampton after arriving from Red Bull Salzburg.

Since then, the attacker has gone from strength to strength, winning the Champions League last term, inspiring Liverpool’s title challenge this season, and qualifying for the maiden African Legends Cup of Nations.

Wilfried Bony

Once the most expensive African player in history, 2014-15 was the season when Bony swapped Swansea City for Manchester City.

He struggled to recreate the form he’d enjoyed with the Swans since arriving at Eastlands, and only two of the 11 goals he scored that season were after his arrival at City.

Impressively, he still registered just under a dozen PL goals despite an absence at the Afcon where he won the title with the Ivory Coast.

Saido Berahino

Where did it all go wrong for the Burundi international, who was once tipped as the future of the English game?

Back in 2014-15, Berahino proved that he could get the job done at the highest level, scoring 14 goals for modest West Bromwich to end the year as Africa’s top scorer.

Unfortunately, he lost his way at The Hawthorns, and a move to Stoke didn’t work out.