By Princewill Ubani · Published · Updated
Research ID: PA-ART-george-weah-1995-world-footballer-of-the-year
George Weah Becomes Africa's Only World and European Footballer of the Year
George Weah closed out 1995 as the first player born outside Europe to win the Ballon d’Or, in the first year the award opened voting to players not born in Europe. He completed the sweep by also winning FIFA’s World Player of the Year award for the 1995 season, making him the only African footballer to date to hold both titles. He was also named African Footballer of the Year that year, a title he would go on to win three times in his career.
The Liberian forward earned the awards on the strength of a season split between two clubs. He had starred for Paris Saint-Germain, finishing as top scorer in the 1994-95 Champions League as PSG reached the semifinals before losing to AC Milan, the team that signed him that July. He went on to spend six seasons at Milan, scoring 58 goals in 147 matches and winning two Serie A titles.
What set Weah’s award apart from those of the players he beat, including Alan Shearer, Luis Figo and Roberto Baggio, was that he had never played in a World Cup finals. Liberia’s national team, hamstrung by the country’s small population and, later, its civil war, never qualified for the tournament during his playing career, making Weah widely regarded as the best player never to appear at a World Cup.
Weah’s 1995 awards remain unmatched by any other African player; stars including Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Mohamed Salah have never won the Ballon d’Or. Weah later moved into politics in Liberia, serving as a senator before winning the country’s presidency in a December 2017 runoff and taking office the following January.
Correction
George Weah won Liberia's presidency in 2017, not 2018.A passing mention said Weah was elected president "in 2018." The runoff he won was held December 26, 2017; he was inaugurated the following January. The article now gives both dates rather than the single wrong year.Corrected in September 2026. See the log entry.
Sources
- “George Weah”, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- “George Weah: The Only African Winner of the Ballon d'Or”, BeSoccer.
Books & Further Reading
Gary Armstrong, "The Global Footballer and the Local War-Zone: George Weah and Transnational Networks in Liberia, West Africa," Global Networks, Vol. 7, No. 2 (April 2007), pp. 230-247, DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0374.2007.00167.x