Ghana defender Baba Abdul Rahman has been named among the best three African players in the German top-flight while Marseille's Cameroonian defender Nicolas N’Koulou is the top performing African player across Europe’s five biggest leagues.
The revelation, backed by full statistics, was made by the renowned football statistics website WhoScored.com, analyzed evidence from the top five leagues of Europe that is Premier League, Ligue 1, Serie A, Primera Liga and Bundesliga to reach its conclusion.
WhoScored.com uses detailed statistics from Opta to compile player ratings based on each event recorded in a match and calculated using sophisticated algorithms.
It is a reliable resource to objectively measure a player’s performance, whether in a single match or over the course of a season.
With an average rating of 7.62 (out of a possible 10) throughout the current French Ligue 1 season, Cameroonian N’Koulou is the continent’s top representative within the ‘big five’ for 2014/15. He is the third highest rated player in France, with Lyon attacker Alexandre Lacazette taking top spot with a rating of 7.82.
N’Koulou and Victor Moses – the top African performer in the Premier League (and ninth overall in that competition) with a rating of 7.55 – are the only two African players ranked inside the top 10 overall performers within their respective leagues, though Yaya Toure and Eric Choupo-Moting are listed in 11th place in both the Premier League and Bundesliga respectively.
The overall top performing player across the five leagues is Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, with an amazing rating of 8.76. See the listings below for the top overall performer and top three African players in each of the five leagues.
Following the player’s name is his performance ranking within that league, then his appearances (with substitute apps in parenthesis), goals, assists and minutes played.
Barclays Premier League Best overall player: Eden Hazard, 1st (Chelsea) – rating 8.00 – 26 apps, 9 goals, 6 assists, 2301 minutes
Best three African players: Victor Moses, 9th (Stoke) – rating 7.55 – 16 apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 1263 minutes Yaya Toure, 11th (Man City) – rating 7.49 – 19 (1) apps, 7 goals, 1 assist, 1703 minutes Riyad Mahrez, 45th (Leicester) – rating 7.22 – 18 (1) apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 1459 minutes Ligue 1
Best overall player: Alexandre Lacazette, 1st (Lyon) – rating 7.82 – 24 apps, 21 goals, 5 assists, 2061 minutes
Best three African players: Nicolas N’Koulou, 3rd (Marseille) – rating 7.62 – 17 apps, 2 goals, 0 assists, 1530 minutes Papy Djilobodji, 17th (Nantes) – rating 7.41 – 21 (1) apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, 1906 minutes Idrissa Gueye, 24th (Lille) – rating 7.31 – 20 (2) apps, 3 goals, 2 assists, 1834 minutes
Bundesliga Best overall player: Arjen Robben, 1st (Bayern Munich) – rating 8.63 – 18 (1) apps, 17 goals, 7 assists, 1565 minutes
Best three African players:
Eric Choupo-Moting, 11th (Schalke) – rating 7.60 – 23 apps, 9 goals, 4 assists, 1981 minutes Abdul Baba, 16th (Augsburg) – rating 7.49 – 19 (1) apps, 0 goals, 4 assists, 1744 minutes Pierre Aubameyang, 69th (Dortmund) – rating 7.13 – 20 (2) apps, 10 goals, 4 assists, 1813 minutes
Serie A Best overall player: Franco Vazquez, 1st (Palermo) – rating 7.81 – 24 apps, 7 goals, 9 assists, 2076 minutes
Best three African players: Faouzi Ghoulam, 25th (Napoli) – rating 7.27 – 12 (1) apps, 0 goals, 2 assists, 1096 minutes Seydou Keita, 46th (Roma) – rating 7.15 – 15 (4) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1389 minutes Gervinho, 67th (Roma) – rating 7.08 – 14 (3) apps, 2 goals, 3 assists, 1329 minutes Primera
Liga Best overall player: Lionel Messi, 1st (Barcelona) – rating 8.76 – 24 (1) apps, 27 goals, 13 assists, 2205 minutes
Best three African players:
Nyom, 81st (Granada) – rating 6.96 – 22 apps, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1909 minutes Abdoulaye Ba, 101st (Rayo Vallecano) – rating 6.89 – 16 apps, 0 goals, 0 assists, 1322 minutes Pape Diop, 129th (Levante) – rating 6.83 – 17 (1) apps, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1490 minutes
Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, correct as of 3 March 2015.