From being one of the best striker in football and also the first and only African to win the Ballon d’ Or to becoming the President of his country, this is the story of George Weah of Liberia.
George Weah is not a player that should be forgotten in the history of football as he is one of many Africans that made impact in the World football stage.
It is rear to see one of the best strikers of all time move into politics and also becoming the President of his country.
Known for his speed and goal scoring ability George Weah line among one if the greatest striker of all time.
George Weah is a Liberian who started his career as a footballer and played as a striker in his 18-year professional football career.
Weah began his career in his home country Liberia before he moved to playing for clubs in France, Italy and England.
In 1988 he signed for Monaco under the guardians of Arsene Wenger who was the Manager of the French club then.
Weah then moved to Paris Saint Germain in 1992 where he won the Ligue 1 in 1994 and became the top scorer of the 1994-1995 Champions League.
The Liberian signed for AC Milan in 1995 where he spent four successful seasons, winning Serie A twice. He later 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.
Weah ended his career with Al-Jazira in 2003. George Weah is one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League.
At international level Weah represented Liberia, winning 75 caps and scoring 18 goals for his country and playing at the African Cup of Nations on two occasions.
He 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, he 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 also claimed the African Footballer of the Year, and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century. Known for his acceleration, speed, and dribbling ability, in addition to his goalscoring and finishing, Weah was described by FIFA as “the precursor of the multi-functional strikers of today”.
In 2004, Pelé named Weah in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players.
Weah became involved in politics in Liberia following his retirement from football. He formed the Congress for Democratic Change and ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting.
In the 2011 election, he ran unsuccessfully for vice president alongside Winston Tubman. Weah was subsequently elected to the Liberian Senate for Montserrado County in the 2014 elections. Weah was elected President of Liberia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai, and sworn in on 22 January 2018.
One of the best African to ever played the football game won numerous individual awards from the best African footballer to winning the Ballon d’Or.
