The 6 Nigerian players and African Stars that will feature in Europe’s elite football league
Nigerian players are not left out as the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League takes centre stage again.
1. Henry Onyekuru (Galatasaray)
Super Eagles forward Henry Onyekuru is one of the few Nigerian stars to watch out for in this year’s UEFA Champions League.
2. Kayode Olanrewaju (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Super Eagles forward Kayode Olanrewaju will also compete in the UEFA Champions League with Shakhtar Donetsk.
3. Brian Idowu (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Super Eagles defender Brian Idowu will also compete in the UEFA Champions league with Russian champions Lokomotiv Moscow.
4. Tyronne Ebuehi (Benfica)
Super Eagles defender Tyronne Ebuehi will also compete in the UEFA Champions League with Portuguese outfit Benfica.
5 & 6. Arnaut Danjuma and Dennis Bonaventure (Club Brugge)
Bertrand Traore(Lyon) – Burkina Faso
Geoffrey Kondogbia(Valencia) – Centra African Replublic
Mohammed Salah (Liverpool) – Egypt
Sadio Mane (Liverpool) – Senegal
Naby Keita (Liverpool) – Guninea
Joel Matip (Liverpool) – Cameroon
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) – Algeria
Eric Baily (Manchester United) – Ivory Coast
Thomas Partey(Atletico Madrid) – Ghana
Victor Wanyama (Tottenham Hotspur) – Kenya
Serge Aurier ( Tottenham Hotspur) – Ivory Coast
Vincent Aboubakar ( Porto) – Cameroon
Moussa Marega ( Porto) – Mali
Yacine Brahimi(Porto) – Algeria
Amadou Diawara (Napoli) – Guinea
Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) – Senegal
Medhi Benatia (Juventus) – Morocco
There are many stars who will be representing Africa in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League campaign, but which of these players should we keep a close eye on? Here are 17 African stars who will be sure to set Europe’s biggest club competition alight this season.
According to UEFA, 20 Africans have won the Champions League previously, with Achraf Hakimi being the latest player from the continent to lift the trophy, doing so last season with Real Madrid.
However, that number might have been higher had Liverpool beaten Los Blancos in the final in Kiev earlier this year as Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Joel Matip would have been added to the list.
This time around, the Reds will also have Guinea international Naby Keita in their side to help repeat their impressive form in the tournament from the previous campaign.
Liverpool’s African influence in the competition will undoubtedly play a major role in any success Jurgen Klopp’s side has in Europe, especially Mane and Salah, who both scored 10 goals last time out.
Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez makes his return to the tournament, having last featured in Europe with Leicester City in the 2016/17 campaign. The new Manchester City signing will be looking to add the coveted UCL prize to his small trophy collection.
Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey will be one to watch for Atletico Madrid
