George Weah, the African legend that became president
African football has often gotten the short end of the stick when compared to the sports in other parts of the world. However, it can't be argued that the continent has produced some absolutely phenomenal players, especially in recent years. And when you talk about top class African players, you have to talk about George Weah.
George Oppong Weah - president style
This is the story of Liberian legend George Weah.
Early days in Africa and France
It is often seen that African players leave the continent at youth level and start their journey in professional football in Europe, but this practice wasn't all that common back in the eighties and George Weah is an example of this, starting his career in his homeland of Liberian as a professional player in 1985, first with Mighty Barrolle and later with Invincible Eleven. They were the biggest clubs in the country and Weah averaged almost a goal per game during his time there.After an international against one of the strongest teams in Africa at the time, Cameroon's Tonnerre Yaoundé, where Weah scored, the club's president was impressed by him and signed him in the year 1987. The striker only played a season there, but he scored an impressive 14 goals in 18 games, cementing his place as one of the players to watch in the entire continent.
Weah only spent six months in Cameroon, often dealing with loneliness and not interacting with a lot of people off-the-pitch, but it was during this time period that Arsene Wenger, manager of Ligue 1 club AS Monaco (and of course later on known for his time at Arsenal in England), flew to the country to know him and get his signing. This is how George Weah's European journey began.
Even though the language barrier was an issue at first, Weah's physicality and amazing technique made him stand out in Ligue 1 almost from the get-go. In the 1988/89 season, his first in Europe, he scored 17 goals in 38 games across all competitions, which was a very impressive record, all things considered.
It was during his stint at Monaco that he would win France Football magazine's African Football Player of the Year award in 1989 for the first time in his career (but not the last) and give himself a platform as one of the most interesting players of his generation. And while he only won a Coupe de France trophy in the 1990/91 during his time at Monaco, Weah has gone on record saying that Wenger was a massive influence for his development as a player.
Greatness at PSG and AC Milan
Weah eventually signed for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 1992. This was a time period where PSG were starting to become a lot more competitive in France and Europe, and it has to be said that Weah's arrival helped a great deal in that regard.During the Liberian's time at the club, where he scored double digits in each of the three seasons he played for them, PSG won every trophy available in France at least once and reached the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League semifinals for the first time in their history. Weah also gained a lot of notoriety across the world by becoming the competition's top goalscorer that season with eight goals.
His world class performances in the Champions League didn't go unnoticed and he was signed in the summer of 1995 by arguably the biggest club in the world at the time, AC Milan. They were constantly challenging and winning the Champions League during those years, they were dominating Serie A, and had a squad filled with world class players.
It was during his first season at Milan where Weah won the Ballon d'Or and had a very good run of performances that year, including a legendary goal against Hellas Verona where he went on a solo run. Sadly, the second half of the 90s was a time of transition for Milan and Weah suffered a bit because of that, even though his stint in Italy is often viewed as a success.
England, retirement and politics
Weah was loaned to Chelsea for six months in 2000, enjoying a moderate success in the Premier League and endearing himself to the Blues thanks to his key goals against the likes of Tottenham and Liverpool. Afterwards, he spent a few months in Manchester City, returned to France to play for Marseille for a short period of time and ended up retiring in 2003 with Emirati club Al Jazira.As all of this was happening in his career, Weah had always been a loyal performer to his national team of Liberia and constantly showed up for them, even if the team's quality didn't help him at all. In fact, the player would go and pay bonuses and awards out of his own pocket to his teammates so the national team could remain sustainable.
He was heralded as King George in Liberia and viewed as a national treasure, which was something that became very notorious when he decided to run for president of the country in 2005. He didn't win and left politics for a while, only to return in 2009 and was elected president in the 2017 elections, defeating vice-president Joseph Boakai in the process.
After a long career, starting out in Liberia and going all the way to AC Milan in the peak years of Italian football and eventually becoming president of his home country, George Weah is a phenomenal success story in the world of football.