By Dom Agbakpe,
With Kevin Prince Boateng becoming the 13th African
footballer to sign for FC Barcelona. The 31-year-old attacking midfielder made
a surprised switch to the Spanish football giants from Italian Serie A side
Sassuolo.
He signed the dotted lines on a short-term deal on Monday,
January 21, 2019, becoming the first ever Ghanaian to join the La Liga outfit.
With the FC Barcelona his 11th club, he joins a tall list of
Africa stars who have pulled on the red and blue shirt. Soka25east.com take a
look at five of them.
Samuel Eto’o :
The Cameronian pacey front-man joined FC Barcelona from Real
Mallorca in 2004 where he made 199 appearances across all competition, netting
130 goals and collecting 8 marvellous titles during his 5 years at the club.
The 33-year-old who is currently with Qatar FC has had stint
with Inter Milan, Chelsea, Everton, Sampdoria and Antalyaspor.
Seydou Keita :
Seydou Keita is one of the African star to pull on the
Barcelona shirt. The versatile midfield who can operate as both a central or
defensive midfielder was signed by the Spanish giants from Sevilla in 2008.
The 39 year-old malian had 188 outings for the Catalan
giants, scoring 16 goals and claiming 14 incredible silverwares.
He’s had spells with Valencia, Roma, Marseille and Lorient.
Yaya Toure:
Yaya Toure also deserves a mention. Isn’t it? The Ivorian
International moved to FC Barcelona in 2004 from French side AS Monaco.
He featured in 118 games, and winning 8 trophies in the
process.
The 35 year-old midfielder is currently without a club after
leaving Olympiacos in 2018. Previously, played for Manchester City, Metalurn
Donetsk and Beveren.
Gerardo Miranda:
Not too many know him but the Mauritanian featured in 155
official matches for FC Barcelona during his 9 year stay at the club picking 6
trophies.
Alex Song:
The Cameroonian crossed carpet to FC Barcelona from Arsenal
seven years ago. The 6ft,1 inch 31 year-old midfield dynamo played 39 games for
the Camp Nou outfit between 2012 to 2016 where he found the back of the net
once and winning two titles.
Currently with Swiss side, FC Sion has had stint with WestHam
United, Bastia and Chalton Athletic.
