Seventy-nine African players will be involved in the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League, which begins on Tuesday, with Morocco leading the way among the 23 nationalities represented across the 36 clubs in the league phase.
The figures, compiled by Afrik-Foot from the official squad lists submitted to UEFA, show the growing influence of African footballers in Europe’s leading club competition.
Morocco have the largest contingent, with 13 players, followed by Senegal on 10 and Nigeria on nine. Cote d’Ivoire have eight representatives, while Algeria have six and Cameroon five.
Several leading contenders for the trophy include prominent African internationals. Paris Saint-Germain, the two-time defending champions, will again rely heavily on Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, who remains a central figure in the side.
Morocco’s 13 players make it the best-represented African nation in the competition. Hakimi is the headline name, but the list also includes Ayyoub Bouaddi at Manchester City, Brahim Diaz at Real Madrid, Ismael Saibari at Bayern Munich and Noussair Mazraoui at Manchester United.
Bilal El Khannouss of Stuttgart, Neil El Aynaoui of RB Leipzig, Osame Sahraoui of Lille, Abde Ezzalzouli of Real Betis, Oussama Targhalline and Nassim El Harmouz of Feyenoord, Moncef Zekri of Sporting CP and Ilias Akhomach of Villarreal complete the Moroccan contingent. Anass Salah-Eddine, however, was not included in AS Roma’s squad list.
Senegal’s 10 representatives include Nicolas Jackson and Ibrahim Mbaye, who have moved to Aston Villa, and Iliman Ndiaye, who transferred to Manchester City.
The other Senegalese players are Bara Sapoko Ndiaye at Bayern Munich, Ismail Jakobs at Galatasaray, Mamadou Diakhon at Club Brugge, Assane Diao at Como, Abdallah Sima at Lens, Ibrahima Ba at Sporting CP and Pape Gueye at Villarreal.
Nigeria are next, with nine players. Victor Osimhen, now at Galatasaray, and Ademola Lookman, who joined Atletico Madrid, are the most prominent names. Four Nigerian players are registered with Slavia Prague, giving the club a particularly strong connection with the Super Eagles.
Cote d’Ivoire have eight players in the competition. Their group includes Wilfried Singo at Galatasaray, Amad Diallo at Manchester United, Seko Fofana at FC Porto, Ange-Yoan Bonny at Inter, Evan N’Dicka at AS Roma, Nicolas Pepe at Villarreal and Toumani Diakite at Slavia Prague.
The country’s most notable representative is Yan Diomande of Real Madrid, who has become the most expensive African player in football history.
Algeria’s six-man group is led by Manchester City defender Rayan Ait-Nouri. Ramy Bensebaini is at Borussia Dortmund, while Anis Hadj Moussa remains at Feyenoord after his proposed move to Al-Ittihad fell through. Yacine Titraoui is registered with Lens, Nabil Bentaleb with Lille and Akim Zedadka with Sabah FK.
Cameroon have five players, including Harold Moukoudi of AEK, Yvan Dibango of LASK, Carlos Baleba and Bryan Mbeumo of Manchester United, and Frank Anguissa of Napoli. Anguissa has recently retired from international football.
Cameroon’s total is higher than those of Mali, who have four players, Ghana, who have three, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who have two, and Tunisia, who have one.
Guinea will be represented by Serhou Guirassy of Borussia Dortmund and Sahmkou Camara of Slovan Bratislava, a club managed by former Cote d’Ivoire international Yaya Toure.
African presence among the leading clubs
The summer transfer window brought a number of high-profile moves involving African players. Diomande, Saibari, Bouaddi and Ndiaye all changed clubs before the start of the new Champions League campaign.
Manchester United now have a notable African group, with Cameroonian midfielder Carlos Baleba alongside Mbeumo and Diallo. Manchester City have four African players in their squad: Ait-Nouri, Bouaddi, Ndiaye and Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo.
Real Madrid have two African players, with Ivorian international Diomande joining Moroccan midfielder Brahim Diaz. Bayern Munich’s list includes Saibari and Senegalese player Bara Sapoko Ndiaye.
Galatasaray, Slovan Bratislava, Sabah FK and Slavia Prague have the highest number of African players, with five each. Although those clubs are not generally considered among the leading favourites, Manchester City and Manchester United are close behind with four representatives each.
Four of the 36 participating clubs have no African player in their squad: Arsenal, Liverpool, Viking FK and PSV Eindhoven. PSV no longer have Saibari or Couhaib Driouech after both Moroccan players left during the summer.
Liverpool’s absence is particularly striking. The club enjoyed some of its most successful recent years with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, but have no African player on their Champions League list this season. That is despite attempting to sign Ismaila Sarr and Minteh during the transfer window.
With 79 players from 23 African nations, the 2026-27 Champions League underlines the continent’s increasingly significant role in the squads of Europe’s top clubs.