The English Premier League is the highest level of English football, and every footballer aspires to feature in the league to gain widespread recognition.
Multiple African talents have continued to make waves in the league over the years.
Most of these great players also played key roles in their clubs’ title-winning campaigns. From former Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez to Liverpool’s star forward Mohamed Salah, this list highlights the top five African players with the most EPL title wins.
Riyad Mahrez (5 titles)
Algerian captain Riyad Mahrez ranks as the most decorated African footballer in English Premier League history, with five league titles.
The 34-year-old was an important member of Leicester City’s remarkable title win in 2015-16 season, before switching sides to Manchester City, where he cemented his legacy as one of the best players in the league history.
Mahrez won four additional league titles at the Cityzens between 2018 and 2023, taking his haul to five before he left the club for Saudi Arabia at the end of the campaign.
Didier Drogba (4 titles)
Didier Drogba is widely regarded as one of the greatest African footballers in history, and the ex-Ivorian striker won four EPL titles for Chelsea during his playing days. The two-time African footballer of the year won three league titles in his first stint at the Blues, in 2004-05, 2005-06 and in 2009-10.
Drogba left Chelsea in 2012, but returned for a second spell at the club in 2014 when he added a fourth EPL title to his impressive achievements. He also won two golden boots and was inducted into the EPL hall of fame in 2022.
Salah and four other highest scoring African footballers in EPL history
Yaya Toure (3 titles)
Former Manchester City midfield maestro Yaya Toure’s haul of three league titles makes him the third most decorated African footballer in EPL history.
The four-time African footballer of the year won a first title in the 2011-12 season, which was sealed by the famous ‘Aguero’ moment.
Yaya Toure won two more titles in 2013-14 and in 2017-18 and was also included in the PFA team of the year in his first two title-winning seasons.
Mohamed Salah (2 titles)
Mohamed Salah is the only active player from this list still in the English Premier League and still has chance to add to his two titles. The Liverpool forward, widely regarded as the greatest African footballer in EPL history, won his first title in the 2019-20 season.
Salah reached new heights in 2024-25, when he guided the Reds to a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title, earning the player of the season award and topping the league in both goals and assists in one of the finest individual campaigns in history.
The 33-year-old also holds the record as the highest-scoring African in EPL history, and has won more golden boots than any other African footballer.
Salah, Osimhen and Hakimi in star-studded race for CAF’s top honour
John Obi Mikel (2 titles)
Former Nigerian captain John Obi Mikel rounds off this list with two EPL titles during his time at Chelsea.
The iconic midfielder, whose move to England in 2006 was surrounded by controversy, won the English league for a first time in the 2009-10 season.
Mikel was then part of the title winning squad for the 2014-15 season, where he played 18 games for the Blues.
