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.

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