Lionel Messi might have walked away with the 2019 Ballon d'Or award on Monday, but Africa's brightest stars made history for the continent at the spectacular gala event in Paris.
Five footballers from the African continent were nominated for this year's award, including Liverpool prolific attacking duo of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Among the nominees, Mane, Salah and Mahrez placed the highest of those from Africa, with the latter pairing ending fourth and fifth, respectively, while the Algerian took 10th spot.
In doing so, and for the first time in the history of the award, three African players had been ranked in the top 10 for the coveted Golden Ball.
None of the continent's stars were able to break into the top three, however, with Messi being accompanied by Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk and long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo on the podium.
Aubameyang ranked 20th, alongside Ajax Amsterdam forward Dusan Tadic, while Koulibaly ended four places behind in the 24th spot.
