2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund, Germany)
2014: Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast (Manchester City, England)
2013: Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast (Manchester City, England)
2012: Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast (Manchester City, England)
2011: Yaya Toure, Ivory Coast (Manchester City, England)
2010: Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon (Inter Milan, Italy)
2009: Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast (Chelsea, England)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor, Togo (Arsenal, England)
2007: Frédéric Kanouté, Mali (Sevilla, Spain)
2006: Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast (Chelsea, England)
2005: Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon (FC Barcelona)
2004: Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon (FC Barcelona / Mallorca, Spain)
2003: Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon (Mallorca, Spain)
2002: El Hadji Diouf, Senegal (Liverpool, England / Lens, France)
2001: El Hadji Diouf, Senegal (Lens, France)
2000: Patrick Mboma, Cameroon (Parma / Cagliari, Italy)
1999: Nwankwo Kanu, Nigeria (Arsenal, England)
1998: Mustapha Hadji, Morocco (Deportivo La Coruña, Spain)
1997: Victor Ikpeba, Nigeria (Monaco, France)
1996: Nwankwo Kanu, Nigeria (Ajax, Netherlands / Inter Milan, Italy)
1995: George Weah, Liberia (AC Milan, Italy / Paris Saint-Germain, France)
1994: Emmanuel Amunike, Nigeria ( Sporting Lisbon, Portugal) / Zamalek, Egypt)
1993: Rashidi Yekini, Nigeria ( Vitória de Setúbal, Portugal) / Abedi Pele, Ghana (Olympique de Marseille, France) by France football.
1992: Abedi Pele, Ghana (Olympique de Marseille, France)
1991: Abedi Pele, Ghana (Olympique de Marseille, France)
1990: Roger Milla, Cameroon (Saint-Denis, France)
1989: George Weah, Liberia (Monaco, France)
1988: Kalusha Bwalya, Zambia (Cercle Brugge, Belgium)
1987: Rabah Madjer, Algeria ( Porto, Portugal)
1986: Badou Zaki, Morocco (Mallorca, Spain)
1985: Mohammed Timoumi, Morocco (FAR Rabat, Morocco)
1984: Théophile Abega, Cameroon (Toulouse, France)
1983: Mahmoud Al-Khatib, Egypt (Ahly, Egypt)
1982: Thomas N’kono, Cameroon (Espanyol, Spain)
1981: Lakhdar Belloumi, Algeria (GC Mascara, Algeria)
1980: Jean Manga-Onguene, Cameroon (Canon Yaounde, Cameroon)
1979: Thomas Nkono, Cameroon (Canon Yaoundé, Cameroon)
1978: Karim Abdul Razak, Ghana (Asante Kotoko, Ghana)
1977: Tarak Dhiab, Tunisia (Espérance detunes, Tunisia)
1976: Roger Milla, Cameroon (Tonnerre de Yaoundé, Cameroon)
1975: Ahmed Faras, Morocco (Chabab Mohammédia, Morocco)
1974: Paul Moukila, Congo (Cara, Brazzaville, Congo)
1973: Tshimen Bwanga, Zaire (TP Mazembe, Zaire)
1972: Cherif Souleymane, Guinea (Hafia Conakry, Guinea)
1971: Ibrahim Sunday, Ghana ( Asante Kotoko, Ghana)
1970: Salif Keïta, Mali, (AS Saint-Etienne, France)
Note: The award was organised by the French soccer magazine ‘France Football’ until 1994 and starting from 1992 the Confederation of African Football instituted a new award.
* In 1993 France Football gave the award to Ghana’s Abedi Pele while the CAF awarded it to Nigeria’s Rashidi Yekini.