The African Cup Of Nations is widely considered to be the greatest trophy close to the FIFA World Cup in African football.
While some players have won the prestigious trophy more than once, other great footballers have never taken home the coveted cup despite proving to be worthy of it.
In this content, we take a look at the top 9 African great footballers who never won the African Cup of Nations before their retirement despite their brilliance and accomplishments in the game.
Top 9 African great footballers that retired without winning the Africa Cup of Nations:
The first on this list is Chelsea and Ivory Coast's legendary striker Didier Drogba.
Drogba achieved numerous trophies, including individual honors during his time at Stamford Bridge, and represented the Ivory Coast in three World Cups, including their first qualification in 2006.
Despite being the top scorer in the 2012 Afcon, Drogba retired before Ivory Coast won the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea, missing out on the chance to win the tournament's biggest prize.
Despite an Impressive collection of honors, such as the Champions League, the Uefa Cup, the Premier League, and Olympic gold, Kanu never managed to clinch the Afcon title.
Although he played in three World Cups for the Super Eagles, his inability to secure the Afcon championship with Nigeria robbed the football icon of some bragging rights.
It should be noted that he came close to winning the title, reaching the semi-finals on five separate occasions.
After being named CAF Player of the Year multiple times, Diouf's prowess on the field was undeniable.
However, despite his success, he was unable to lead his national team to an AFCON victory.
In 2002, his Senegalese team came close, reaching the final, but ultimately fell short to Cameroon.
It was a bittersweet moment for the football icon, as his achievements did not culminate in the ever-coveted AFCON.
The Ghanaian football legend, who was a teammate of Didier Drogba at Chelsea, missed the opportunity to hoist the AFCON with Ghana in 2010.
Essien participated in two World Cups with Ghana (in 2006 and 2014) but was hindered by injuries, which prevented him from contributing to their quarter-final run in 2010.
His absence may have made a difference in Ghana's near misses at the Nations Cup, potentially leading them to AFCON success.
Weah holds the record of the only African player to have won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.
In addition, the Liberia president won the CAF Player of the Year award twice in 1989 and 1995.
However, despite his supreme talent, his honors at both club and international levels did not match his achievements.
He only managed to qualify Liberia for two AFCON editions (1996 and 2002), and on both occasions, the country crashed out in the group phase of the continental title.
Gyan is the all-time leading goalscorer of the Ghana national team, with 51 goals.
The 38-year-old former Ghana national team captain holds the record for most World Cup goals scored by an African player (6).
He represented Ghana at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Gyan has also represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in seven Africa Cup of Nations in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019, helping them finish in third place in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015 but he never won the African Cup of Nations.
The former Manchester City and Arsenal star represented Togo in the 2010 and 2013 African Cup of Nations.
However, the 2008 African Player of the Year could not lift the AFCON with Togo.
He qualified them for the 2006 edition after emerging top scorer in qualifiers with 11 goals, but the team could not make it out of the group stage.
Adebayor announced his retirement from professional football on 21 March 2023, aged 39
The Moroccan football coach and former player was named the 50th greatest African player of all time by the African football expert Ed Dove.
Hadji did well by representing his national team in 13 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.
However, he never won AFCON as the furthest the 1998 African player of the year could go with Morocco was in the quarterfinals in 1998.
Despite playing for France U-21, Kanoute was among the members of the Mali international team which reached the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations.
He also featured in Mali's selections for the prestigious African football tournament in 2006 and 2010 but the 2007 African Player of the Year could not win AFCON as he only helped Mali to the semis in 2004.
His international career ended in 2010 with a total of 38 caps and 23 goals.
While some players have won the prestigious trophy more than once, other great footballers have never taken home the coveted cup despite proving to be worthy of it.
In this content, we take a look at the top 9 African great footballers who never won the African Cup of Nations before their retirement despite their brilliance and accomplishments in the game.
Top 9 African great footballers that retired without winning the Africa Cup of Nations:
1. Didier Drogba
The first on this list is Chelsea and Ivory Coast's legendary striker Didier Drogba.
Drogba achieved numerous trophies, including individual honors during his time at Stamford Bridge, and represented the Ivory Coast in three World Cups, including their first qualification in 2006.
Despite being the top scorer in the 2012 Afcon, Drogba retired before Ivory Coast won the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea, missing out on the chance to win the tournament's biggest prize.
2. Nwankwo Kanu
Despite an Impressive collection of honors, such as the Champions League, the Uefa Cup, the Premier League, and Olympic gold, Kanu never managed to clinch the Afcon title.
Although he played in three World Cups for the Super Eagles, his inability to secure the Afcon championship with Nigeria robbed the football icon of some bragging rights.
It should be noted that he came close to winning the title, reaching the semi-finals on five separate occasions.
3. El-Hadji Diouf
After being named CAF Player of the Year multiple times, Diouf's prowess on the field was undeniable.
However, despite his success, he was unable to lead his national team to an AFCON victory.
In 2002, his Senegalese team came close, reaching the final, but ultimately fell short to Cameroon.
It was a bittersweet moment for the football icon, as his achievements did not culminate in the ever-coveted AFCON.
4. Michael Essien
The Ghanaian football legend, who was a teammate of Didier Drogba at Chelsea, missed the opportunity to hoist the AFCON with Ghana in 2010.
Essien participated in two World Cups with Ghana (in 2006 and 2014) but was hindered by injuries, which prevented him from contributing to their quarter-final run in 2010.
His absence may have made a difference in Ghana's near misses at the Nations Cup, potentially leading them to AFCON success.
5. George Weah
Weah holds the record of the only African player to have won the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.
In addition, the Liberia president won the CAF Player of the Year award twice in 1989 and 1995.
However, despite his supreme talent, his honors at both club and international levels did not match his achievements.
He only managed to qualify Liberia for two AFCON editions (1996 and 2002), and on both occasions, the country crashed out in the group phase of the continental title.
6. Asamoah Gyan
Gyan is the all-time leading goalscorer of the Ghana national team, with 51 goals.
The 38-year-old former Ghana national team captain holds the record for most World Cup goals scored by an African player (6).
He represented Ghana at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
Gyan has also represented Ghana at the 2004 Summer Olympics and in seven Africa Cup of Nations in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019, helping them finish in third place in 2008 and runner-up in 2010 and 2015 but he never won the African Cup of Nations.
7. Emmanuel Adebayor
The former Manchester City and Arsenal star represented Togo in the 2010 and 2013 African Cup of Nations.
However, the 2008 African Player of the Year could not lift the AFCON with Togo.
He qualified them for the 2006 edition after emerging top scorer in qualifiers with 11 goals, but the team could not make it out of the group stage.
Adebayor announced his retirement from professional football on 21 March 2023, aged 39
8. Mustapha Hadji
The Moroccan football coach and former player was named the 50th greatest African player of all time by the African football expert Ed Dove.
Hadji did well by representing his national team in 13 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.
However, he never won AFCON as the furthest the 1998 African player of the year could go with Morocco was in the quarterfinals in 1998.
9. Frederic Kanoute
Despite playing for France U-21, Kanoute was among the members of the Mali international team which reached the semi-finals of the 2004 African Cup of Nations.
He also featured in Mali's selections for the prestigious African football tournament in 2006 and 2010 but the 2007 African Player of the Year could not win AFCON as he only helped Mali to the semis in 2004.
His international career ended in 2010 with a total of 38 caps and 23 goals.