Abedi Pele left out of FourFourTwo’s 100 best footballers of all time

The magazine said the criteria for selection bordered on “the players we feel were the most influential in their particular era, the most memorable, the players who awed us with their talent and their achievements.”

Lionel Messi topped the list as the greatest player of all time, followed by compatriot Diego Maradona in second place.

Cristiano Ronaldo was named in third place, while Pele and Zinedine Zidane were fourth and fifth, respectively.

George Weah, rated as the 97th-best player in football history by FourFourTwo Magazine, was the only African to make the list.

Weah, who is now the President of Liberia, was a household name in football in the 1990s after starring for Monaco, PSG, AC Milan and Chelsea.

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He won several titles with all the aforementioned clubs and is also a three-time winner of the African Footballer of the Year award.

In 1995, he was the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League and remains the only African to have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or.

George Weah won the Ballon d'Or in 1995 Imago

While Weah’s place in the FourFourTwo Magazine’s list of the best players of all time is justified, one name that is controversially missing from it is Ghana’s Abedi Pele.

Abedi was one of Africa’s most celebrated footballers in the 1990s, having made his name with Olympique Marseille.

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The 57-year-old won numerous titles with the French giants, including Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League.

He was also voted CAF Footballer of the Year three times, with a triumph in the 1982 AFCON completing his medal cabinet at both club and international level.