The African Nation with the Most Players Representing Manchester United in the EPL Era

Since the inception of the Premier League, Manchester United has had no fewer than 16 African players on its roster. However, only one African nation has contributed more than two players to the Red Devils during this period — Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

Three Ivorians have donned the famous red shirt in the Premier League era, starting with Wilfried Zaha. Born in Abidjan, Zaha moved to England at a young age. He joined Manchester United from Crystal Palace in 2013. His debut came that August in the Community Shield against Wigan. Despite high hopes, Zaha made only four appearances during the 2013/14 season and failed to score.

Next was Eric Bailly, a commanding central defender who arrived from Villarreal in July 2016 for a reported €38 million. Bailly had a solid start at Old Trafford, making 70 Premier League appearances and playing a total of 113 matches across all competitions. He was part of the squad that won two trophies in his debut season and had two goal involvements during his time with the club.

The most recent Ivorian to play for United is Amad Diallo. The young forward joined from Atalanta in the 2021 January transfer window. At just 22 years old, Amad has emerged as one of the club’s standout performers this season. Impressively, only captain Bruno Fernandes has scored more goals than him in the Premier League for United this term.

Currently, Amad is one of three African players in Manchester United’s squad. The others are André Onana from Cameroon and Noussair Mazraoui from Morocco.

Côte d’Ivoire’s contribution remains the most significant from any African country to Manchester United in the Premier League era.