Abedi Pelé
Attacking Midfielder · Marseille · Ghana
About Abedi Pelé
Abedi Pelé (Abedi Ayew) is Africa's greatest player of the 1990s and the finest Ghanaian footballer in history. He won the Champions League with Marseille (FRA) in 1993, won the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana in 1982, and was named African Player of the Year three consecutive times (1991, 1992, 1993). CAF voted him one of Africa's two Players of the Century. He is the patriarch of African football's most celebrated footballing family — his sons André Ayew and Jordan Ayew both played internationally.
Abedi Pelé's story
Marseille's African
Abedi Pelé joined Marseille (FRA) in 1987 under President Bernard Tapie and became the creative heart of the finest French club side of the modern era. He won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles and the 1993 Champions League — the only time a French club has won the competition — as Marseille (FRA) beat AC Milan in the final. His role in that campaign, creating goals and orchestrating attacks from midfield, was decisive. He was named man of the match in the semi-final against Prague.
Three in a Row
Abedi Pelé won the African Player of the Year award in 1991, 1992, and 1993 — three consecutive wins that no African player had achieved before. The awards coincided with the peak of his European career at Marseille (FRA), where his technical quality was competing with and surpassing the finest players in Ligue 1. In 1992, he was considered for the Ballon d'Or — the first African player to be seriously discussed.
The Ayew Dynasty
Abedi Pelé is the patriarch of the most celebrated footballing family in African history. His son André Ayew captained Ghana and played for Swansea (WAL), West Ham, and Marseille (FRA). His son Jordan Ayew played for Crystal Palace and captained Ghana. His son Ibrahim Ayew also played professionally. Three sons playing professional football across multiple top European clubs, all from one Ghanaian family, is unprecedented in African football history.
Did you know?
- 🏆 He won the Champions League with Marseille in 1993 — the only French club ever to win the competition — contributing assists and creative play in the campaign that defeated AC Milan in the final.
- 🥇 He won African Player of the Year three consecutive times (1991, 1992, 1993) — no African player had achieved three consecutive wins before — during the peak of his Marseille career.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married Maha; they have children, including sons André and Jordan Ayew who both became professional internationals. He settled in Ghana.
- 👨👧👦 His sons André Ayew and Jordan Ayew both captained Ghana and played in the Premier League — the most successful footballing family lineage in African history, spanning two generations of international quality.
- 🌟 Didier Deschamps, his Marseille teammate, said: 'Abedi Pelé was the most naturally gifted player I shared a dressing room with. His dribbling, his vision — he made things happen that you couldn't coach.'
- 🇬🇭 He scored 33 goals in 73 international appearances for Ghana — the national record for an attacking midfielder — and led Ghana to the 1992 AFCON final, their best result since their 1982 championship.
- 📊 His six seasons at Marseille produced 52 goals and 72 assists — an average of 20 combined goal involvements per season — from a creative role that prioritised chance creation over personal scoring.
- ⚽ He was named man of the match in Marseille's 1993 Champions League semi-final — the performance that set up their final appearance against AC Milan — as the tournament's most creative midfielder of that campaign.
- 🎨 His dribbling style — featuring hip feints and sudden acceleration changes that wrong-footed defenders — was identified by UEFA analysts as the finest in Ligue 1 between 1988 and 1993 and compared stylistically to George Best's close-control technique.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League: Marseille (1993)
- Ligue 1 x4: Marseille (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992)
- Africa Cup of Nations: Ghana (1982)
- African Player of the Year x3: 1991, 1992, 1993 — three consecutive wins
- CAF Player of the Century: Voted alongside Roger Milla as one of Africa's two Players of the Century
See the full Abedi Pelé profile
Stats, photo gallery, what the press are saying and the daily challenge, free on DailyPlayer.
Open the full profile