Revealing some of the biggest stars in world football could be playing in Cameroon this January. We previously revealed some huge names in world football that could be playing at the AFCON in an alternate universe, but I wouldn’t bet on those just initial names yet as African ancestry runs far deeper than you can imagine.
And even though however we might like to look at it and if wishes were horses, this January’s AFCON in Cameroon should even be garnering more spotlight than it is doing at the moment, if and only if we lived in an alternate reality.
Like the future, we can’t predict if the next generation’s football stars would decide on their ancestry over the background or as the case might be, but we can only remain hopeful that the biggest stars in the beautiful game keep emerging or are linked to the African continent.
Regardless, here’s our part two list for the list of players likely to be balling in Cameroon this month…..expect one or two shockers so heads up:
1 Leroy Sané – Current National Team (Germany)
Leroy Sane plays as a winger for Bundesliga Champions. Bayern Munich is one of the best young wingers in world football.
Leroy Aziz Sané is the son of former Senegalese footballer Souleymanne Sané and rhythmic gymnast as well as 1984 Summer Olympics bronze medalist Regina Weber in Essen, Germany.
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Sané’s father Souleymanne was raised in France but moved to Germany (while serving the French Army) and met his mother there as well while playing professional football for SG Wattenscheid.
According to his father – Souleymanne, the only reason why his 26-year-old son didn’t play for Senegal is that the Senegalese FA never showed interest in Leroy before he got a call-up to play for Germany as he’s also eligible to play for France as well since he holds French citizenship.
2 Ferland Mendy – Current National Team (France)
26-year-old Ferland Mendy plays as a fullback for Spanish giants Real Madrid CF and represents the French National Team.
Ferland Mendy was born to Senegalese parents in Meulan-en-Yvelines, France.
He is also the cousin to Chelsea Fc and Senegalese goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy.
After going through a rough childhood growing up, Mendy got a call up for the first time by Les Blues in 2018 and duly obliged.
Before then, he had never played football at the International level nor had he been linked to playing for Senegal.
3 Cristiano Ronaldo – Current National Team (Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro is a 36-year-old striker who plays for English giants Manchester United and captains the Portuguese National Team.
Widely regarded as the greatest player of his generation and the most prolific goal scorer in international football, his appearance on this list is probably the biggest shocker here.
Did you know that even though Ronaldo was born in Madeira to Portuguese parents, his paternal great-grandmother – Isabel da Piedade, was from the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde.
Humberto and Filomena are the children of Isabel and the grandparents of Ronaldo.
Dinis who was one of Humberto’s six children married Maria Dolores (Ronaldo’s mother) who eventually give birth to Ronaldo.
Hence, the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo that we all know today, without the shadow of a doubt, has African ancestry in his lineage.
Jérôme Agyenim Boateng is a 33-year-old defender who plays for the French club Olympique Lyon and is widely regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation.
The former Bayern Munich star is a Ghanaian-German born to a German mother – Martina Boateng and a Ghanian father.
Boateng was born in Berlin, Germany is equally the half-younger brother of former Ghanaian international Kevin-Prince Boateng.
Boateng had been playing for the Germany U17 and U19 team since he started playing football professionally and that pretty much explains why he would eventually end up playing in the senior team of Die Mannschaft.
