George Weah started on the streets of Monrovia, reached the top of European football and ended up as President of Liberia. There is no other career quite like it.
In 1995 he won the Ballon d'Or, and he is still the first and only African player to take it. The same year he was named FIFA World Player of the Year, completing a sweep of the two big individual awards.
What made Weah so dangerous?
Pace, power, skill and a finish to match. At AC Milan he was the main striker, won 2 Serie A titles in the late 1990s and scored one of the best individual goals ever seen, dribbling all the way from his own penalty area to score. Several defenders tried to intervene along the way, without much success.
From footballer to head of state
After football came politics. In 2018 Weah became the 25th President of Liberia, a move from the pitch to the head of state's office that few footballers could imagine.
His story runs from Monrovia to the Ballon d'Or to the presidency. On the pitch his talent was pure and his power was frightening, and many call him the greatest African footballer who ever lived.
Tomorrow: number 19.
