Before Yan Diomandé... the top 5 Africans who played for Real Madrid

30.08.26 11:00 LaLiga Spain

Real Madrid

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Malaga

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Yan Diomandé has become the most expensive African player in history after signing with Real Madrid for a staggering €125 million. He becomes the 10th African to don the iconic white of Los Merengues. Here’s the top 5.

Samuel Eto’o

The Yaoundé-born striker signed his first deal with Los Blancos in 1996 at just 15 years old. The Cameroonian legend endured a tough spell in Madrid, marked by three loan stints at Leganés, RCD Espanyol, and RCD Mallorca before leaving in 2000 having barely featured for the first team.

Geremi Njitap

Njitap wore the Real Madrid shirt between 1999 and 2003 during the Galácticos era. He scored 3 goals in 108 appearances before continuing his career in England with Chelsea.

Mahamadou Diarra

After making a name for himself at Olympique Lyonnais, the Malian midfielder signed for Real Madrid in 2006, thanks to Fabio Capello, who considered him the club’s “number one signing.” He was brought in as the replacement for Makelele, who had left for Chelsea in 2003 and had never truly been replaced. Diarra scored 4 goals in 125 matches wearing the famous white kit.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Having played for several clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, and Tottenham, the Togolese striker was loaned to Real Madrid in 2011. His stint was short but effective, netting 8 goals in 22 games.

Michael Essien

The Chelsea star from Ghana was loaned to Real Madrid for the 2012-2013 season, making 35 appearances and scoring twice before heading to Italy to join AC Milan.

Beyond these five, four other players have featured at least once for Real Madrid’s senior team: Cape Verdean Valdo (2001-2003), Equatoguinean Javier Balboa (2005-2008), and Moroccans Achraf Hakimi (2017-2020) and Brahim Diaz (since 2019).

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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