Monrovia – Ghanaian Football legend Asamoah Gyan has join the debate of which footballer is the Greatest Player of all tine.
Despite many football pundits, lovers of the game, coaches, and players selecting either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo Gyan believe the two world stars don’t deserve to be call the GOAT.
By: Christopher C. Walker 0777898224/0886723075 [email protected]
In a recent interview with TV3 in his native land The 37 years old former Ghanaian captain picked African and Liberian football legend George Weah ahead of Ronaldo in the GOAT conversation.
Gyan says he would rate the three times African player of the year George Weah ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in his list of the greatest players of all time.
The top African goal scorer in the history of the World Cup believes Weah being the only African to win the Ballon d’Or puts him in a different light when compared to others.
Weah the current President of Liberia du playing days was one of the best footballer in the world and a dominant figures in the 1990s.
Known for his exceptional skills and goal scoring the Liberian footballer won several trophies at Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Miln and Chelsea, including the Serie A ,Coupe de France, Ligue 1 and the FA Cup.
On an individual level, he won African Footballer of the year three times and also scooped both the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d’Or in 1995.
When ask to make his choice between Ronaldo and Weah in his list of greatest players of all time, Gyan said he’d put the Liberian ahead.
“I have to choose Weah,” the Sunderland and Al Ain forward said on TV3 New Day.
“He is the only African who has won the Balon d’Or. And then, in his time, there were a lot of durable defenders. No disrespect to this generation but those times [had better defenders].”
This comes after Gyan said earlier that he would rather have Lionel Messi in his team than Ronaldo.
He explained that while Messi is gifted and can deliver magic on the pitch at his will, Ronaldo is more about hard work and dedication.
The two superstars have often divided opinions among fans across the globe for the better part of the last 20 years.
Both have won literally everything there is to win in the game, with Messi annexing the Ballon d’Or seven times while Ronaldo has five times.
The Argentina captain also led his country to lift their first World Cup trophy in 34 years during last year’s tournament in Qatar.
Although Ronaldo hasn’t managed that yet, he was equally instrumental in Portugal’s run to winning Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations League
It can be recalled that over ten years since Weah retired it in 2023 January Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen equalled the Serie A goal record of former AC Milan star, George Weah.
Osimhen matched Weah’s goal record after scoring a goal in Napoli’s 2-0 Serie A win against Sampdoria on Sunday night.
His goal against Sampdoria means Osimhen has become the second African player to score ten plus goals in three different Serie A seasons, after Weah with AC Milan ( in 1995/96, 1996/97 and 1997/98).
Brief about George Weah
After beginning his career in Liberia, George Weah spent 14 years playing for clubs in France, Italy and England. Arsene Wenger first brought him to Europe, signing him for French Club Monaco in 1988. Weah moved to PSG in 1992 where they won the Ligue 1 in 1994 and became the top scorer of the 1994-95 UEFA Champions League . He signed for Italian club AC Milan in 1995 where he spent four susful seasons, winning the Serie A twice. He moved to the Premier League towards the end of his career and had spells at Chelsea and Manchester City , winning the FA Cup at the former, before returning to France to play for Marseille in 2001. He ended his career with Al Jazira in 2003. FourfourTwo named Weah one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League
Weah represented Liberia at the international level, winning 75 caps and scoring 18 goals for Liberia and playing at the African Cup of Nations on two occasions. He also played an international friendly in 2018, where his number 14 jersey was retired. Regarded as one of the best players never to have played at the World Cup.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, in 1995, Weah was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or , becoming the first and only player to win these awards while representing an African country internationally. In 1989, 1994 and 1995, he was also named the African Footballer of the Year and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century. Known for his acceleration, speed, and driving ability, in addition to his goal scoring and finishing, Weah was described by FIFA as “the precursor of the multi-functional strikers of today”. In 2004, he was named by the late Brizialan football legend Pele in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living player.
Brief about Gyan
Gyan is the all-time leading goal scorer of the Ghana national team, with 51 goals. He represented Ghana at the 2026,2010,and 2014 FIFA World Cups. With six goals, he is the top African goal scorer in the history of the World Cup.
Gyan represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympic and in seven African Cup of Nations in 2008, 2010,2012,2013,2015,2017 and, 2019 helping them finish 3rd in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015.