George Weah, the former AC Milan player has tipped Victor Osimhen to become Africa’s next Ballon d’Or winner.
The African legend, George Weah has recently congratulated Victor Osimhen for overtaking his record for the highest-scoring African player ever in the Italian Serie A.
Victor Osimhen saw the back of the net on Sunday, 7th of May, in the 74th minute from the penalty area during Napoli’s 1-0 victory over Fiorentina to record his 47th goal in the Italian league.
Osimhen was the catalyst for Napoli’s historic season, in which they won Serie A after a drought of 33 years and in which they set multiple club records.
The sensational strike sent Osimhen one goal ahead of Weah, who scored 46 goals on the diary of Africans with the most goals in Serie A.
Weah scored 46 times for AC Milan in 114 appearances across five seasons during his stint with the Italian outfit.
George Weah, who is currently Liberia’s president, had held the record since 1999. The Liberian is the only African player to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
During Weah’s congratulatory remark on Tuesday, 9th of May, the African legend praised Osimhen’s commitment, humility, dedication, hard work, and said that the Nigerian international can be the Next African player to win a Ballon d’Or.
He then challenged the Napoli point man to achieve more greatness, saying “The sky is your limit”.
George Weah said; “My heartfelt congratulations to you, Victor Osimhen, I am very glad that you have accomplished a major milestone in your football career, after scoring your 47th goal in the Italian Serie A League”.
He spoke of how pleased he was with Osimhen’s accomplishments and how touched he was that the young Nigerian had thought to honor him upon reaching this milestone.
Osimhen also hailed the Liberian president as the origin of inspiration to many African football players.
Osimhen said; “While growing up, I have always admired the great achievements of so many African legends and his excellent Mr. George Weah is one of them”.
He added; “An icon in the world of football and also a leader to his people. Someone who has motivated and inspired millions of young talents alike”.
On the other hand, The Super Eagles striker has also surpassed Samuel Eto’o, who scored 21 goals for Inter Milan in the 2010–2011 season, to become the African team with the most goals scored in a single season in the Serie A.
In the same season as Eto’o, Osimhen contributed 28 goals, which is three less than Eto’o’s 31 goals.
Osimhen has a chance to become the first African to win the Serie A top scorer award, and he already has four goals with two games left in the season.
Who’s George Weah?
George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a former professional football player and politician who is the president of Liberia, serving in office since 2018. He played as a striker in his prolific 18-year professional football career, which ended in 2003.
George Weah age;
Weah was born on the 1st of October, 1966 in Monrovia, Liberia.
George Weah’s football career;
For the first 14 years of his professional career, Weah represented clubs in France, Italy, and England after beginning his career in his home country of Liberia.
In 1988, Arsène Wenger was the one who signed him for Monaco and brought him to Europe.
In 1992, Weah moved to Paris Saint-Germain, where he helped the team win the Ligue 1 championship the following year and finished as the tournament’s leading scorer.
In 1995, he signed with AC Milan, where he played for four seasons and won the Serie A championship twice.
He finished his career in England’s Premier League with stops at Chelsea and Manchester City, where he won the FA Cup, before heading back to France to suit up for Marseille in 2001.
In 2003, he decided to retire from football. Weah was recognized by FourFourTwo as a top player who fell short of the UEFA Champions League title.
Weah played in two African Cup of Nations tournaments for Liberia, earned 75 international caps, and scored 18 goals.
His number 14 jersey was retired after the 2018 international friendly he participated in.
Weah is one of the greatest players to never appear in a World Cup game. He is “hamstrung by hailing from a global minnow,” as described by Scott Murray.
Weah is widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, and in 1995 he became the first African player to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d’Or.
Aside from being named African Player of the Century in 1996, he also won the award for African Footballer of the Year in 1989, 1994, and 1995.
FIFA called Weah “the precursor of the multi-functional strikers of today” because of his exceptional speed, dribbling, acceleration, and finishing. Pelé included him on his 2004 FIFA 100 list of the best active players in the world.
