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George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served as senator from Montserrado County. He played as a striker in his prolific 18-year professional football career which ended in 2003. Weah is the first African former professional footballer to become a head of state, and the only African Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year winner in history, winning both awards in 1995. He won the African Footballer of the Year 3 times and is considered one of the greatest strikers ever.
After beginning his career in his native Liberia, Weah spent 14 years playing for clubs in France, Italy, and England. Arsène Wenger brought him to Europe, signing him for Monaco in 1988. Weah moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 1992 where they won Division 1 in 1994 and became the top scorer of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League. He signed for AC Milan in 1995 where he spent four successful seasons, winning the Serie A twice. Later in his career, he joined Premier League having spells at Chelsea and Manchester City, winning the FA Cup with Chelsea, before returning to France to play for Marseille in 2001. He ended his career with Al Jazira in 2003. FourFourTwo named Weah one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League.
Weah represented Liberia at the international level, winning 75 caps, scoring 18 goals for his country, and playing at the African Cup of Nations on two occasions. He also played in a friendly in 2018, where his number 14 jersey was retired. Regarded as one of the best players never to have played at the FIFA World Cup, Scott Murray in The Guardian refers to Weah as "hamstrung by hailing from a global minnow".
Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, Weah was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or in 1995, becoming the first and only player to win these awards while representing an African country internationally. In 1989 and 1995, he was also named the African Footballer of the Year winning the official award twice, and in 1996, he was named African Player of the Century. Known for his acceleration, speed, and dribbling ability, in addition to his goal-scoring, Weah was described by FIFA as "the precursor of the multi-functional strikers of today". In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
Weah became involved in politics in Liberia following his retirement from football. He formed the Congress for Democratic Change and ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting. In the 2011 election, he ran unsuccessfully for vice president alongside Winston Tubman. Weah was subsequently elected to the Senate of Liberia for Montserrado County in the 2014 election. Weah was elected President of Liberia in the 2017 election, defeating the incumbent vice president Joseph Boakai, and was sworn in on 22 January 2018. Weah was defeated in a rematch with Boakai in the 2023 election.
Weah's abilities were noticed by the Cameroon national team manager, Claude Le Roy, who recommended him to Arsène Wenger, the manager of French Division 1 club Monaco. Weah signed for Monaco 1988 for a transfer fee of £12,000, after Wenger had flown to Africa prior to the signing to see him play. Weah has credited Wenger as an important influence on his career. During his time with Monaco, Weah was named the African Footballer of the Year for the first time in 1989. This was his first major award and he took it back home for the entire country to celebrate. Weah won the 1990–91 Coupe de France, playing in the final on 8 June in which Monaco beat Marseille 1–0 at the Parc des Princes. He helped Monaco reach the final of the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup, scoring four goals in nine cup appearances.
Weah subsequently played for Paris Saint-Germain (1992–1995), with whom he won the Coupe de France in 1993 and 1995, Division 1 in 1994, and the Coupe de la Ligue in 1995 during a highly prolific and successful period; he also became the top scorer of the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League, with seven goals, after reaching the semi-finals with the club, one of which was a skillful individual "wonder-goal" against Bayern Munich in the group stage, on 23 November 1994. During his time at the club, he also managed to reach the semi-finals of the 1992–93 UEFA Cup, and the semi-finals of the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup; in total, he scored 16 goals in 25 European games. In 1994, he won the African Footballer of the Year Award for the second time in his career.
Exhibiting skill, athleticism and goalscoring prowess, Weah became famous at Milan for scoring several notable goals, in particular a solo goal against Hellas Verona at the San Siro which saw him deftly control the ball from Verona's corner kick just outside his penalty area, before he set off. With all his teammates back defending the corner Weah made a beeline for goal, leaving his teammates in his wake. His teammate Zvonimir Boban stated, "It was an incredible run. We were thinking, 'When's he going to stop? When's he going to stop? He's not going to stop! He's never going to stop!'". Weah finished by rifling the ball into the bottom left corner before an exuberant goal celebration.
Due to his performances with both Paris Saint-Germain and Milan, in 1995 Weah was the recipient of several individual awards: he won the Ballon d'Or, the Onze d'Or, and was named FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first and, currently, only African player (by FIFA nationality) to win these awards, and second African-born player to do so after Eusébio. Weah dedicated his FIFA World Player of the Year victory to his former manager, Arsène Wenger, stating that it was thanks to him that he was able to develop into a world-class player. That year, Weah also won the African Player of the Year Award for the third time in his career, and was named to the Onze de Onze by the French football magazine Onze Mondial. In 1996, Weah finished second in the FIFA World Player of the Year ranking; he was also the recipient of the FIFA Fair Play Award, and was voted the African Player of the Century by sport journalists from around the world.
On 20 November 1996, after Milan's Champions League draw at Porto, Weah broke the nose of Portuguese defender Jorge Costa in the players' tunnel, resulting in a six-match European ban. Weah said he exploded in frustration after putting up with racist tauntings from Costa during both of the team's Champions League matches that autumn. UEFA did not charge Costa because no witnesses, including his Milan teammates, could verify Weah's allegations. Costa strenuously denied the accusations of racism and was not charged by UEFA as no witnesses could verify Weah's allegations, not even his Milan teammates. Weah later attempted to apologise to Costa but this was rebuffed by the Portuguese, who considered the charges of racist insults levelled against him to be defamatory and took Weah to court. The incident led to Costa undergoing facial surgery and he was subsequently sidelined for three weeks. Despite the incident, Weah still received the FIFA Fair Play Award in 1996.
Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli did not make Weah's move permanent, and, on 1 August 2000, he officially left Milan, and signed for newly promoted Premier League side Manchester City on a free transfer on a two-year contract worth £30,000 a week, declining the offer of a £1 million pay-off from Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. He played 11 games in all competitions for City, scoring four times, before leaving on 16 October 2000 after becoming dissatisfied with manager Joe Royle for selecting him as a substitute too frequently; he had only played the full 90 minutes in three of his 11 games for the Maine Road club. At City, he scored once in the league against Liverpool (as he did at Chelsea), and three times against Gillingham (again as he had at Chelsea), this time in the EFL Cup; once in the first leg and twice in the second.
Following his time in England, Weah returned to France and had a spell at Marseille, where he remained until May 2001. He later played with Al Jazira in the UAE Football League, where he remained until his retirement as a player in 2003, at age 37. He had planned on joining the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer but elected to join Al Jazira temporarily.
Weah has been named by several media outlets as one of the best players to never play at the World Cup.
Weah returned to the national team for a specially arranged friendly against Nigeria on 11 September 2018, his final international appearance, playing at the age of 51 while in office as the country's president. His number 14 shirt, worn at his playing peak, was retired after the friendly, with Weah receiving a standing ovation when he was substituted.
One such goal that exemplified this ability was against Verona in 1995 where he received the ball in the edge of his penalty box and ran the length of the field. Scoring such a goal in Serie A – the best defensive league in the world – saw media outlets such as Gazzetta dello Sport running pages of analysis for days afterward, and calling it the greatest strike of all in Italian football. On his impact on the sport, Weah states, "When I look at my idols – Pelé, Diego Maradona, Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff – they did a lot of great things. I came into the game and made history too."
The status of Weah in the sport saw him feature in EA Sports' FIFA video game series where he was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 14. "FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Legends". EA Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2015 During his playing career Weah was sponsored by sportswear company Diadora, and he became famous for his red Diadora boots while playing for AC Milan.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition | |||
| Monaco | 1988–89 | Division 1 | 17 |
| 1989–90 | Division 1 | 8 | |
| 1990–91 | Division 1 | 18 | |
| 1991–92 | Division 1 | 23 | |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1992–93 | Division 1 | 23 |
| 1993–94 | Division 1 | 14 | |
| 1994–95 | Division 1 | 18 | |
| AC Milan | 1995–96 | Serie A | 15 |
| 1996–97 | Serie A | 16 | |
| 1997–98 | Serie A | 13 | |
| 1998–99 | Serie A | 9 | |
| 1999–2000 | Serie A | 5 | |
| Chelsea (loan) | 1999–2000 | Premier League | 5 |
| Manchester City | 2000–01 | Premier League | 4 |
| Marseille | 2000–01 | Division 1 | 5 |
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| Liberia | 0 |
| 6 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| 1 | |
| 3 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| + List of international goals scored by George Weah |
Invincible Eleven
Monaco
Paris Saint-Germain
AC Milan
Chelsea
Liberia
Individual
Weah was President of Junior Professional, a former football club he founded in Monrovia in 1994. As a way to encourage young people to remain in school, the club's only requirement for membership was school attendance. Many of the young people, recruited from all over Liberia, went on to play for the Liberian national team. Weah was also actively involved with youth programs in a Liberian enclave on Staten Island, New York, when he resided there for a time.
The motivation for the academies is cited as a shared experience between both Tripathi and Weah in how sport can transform lives in their nations of India and Liberia, which both still suffer from severe poverty.
Weah obtained a plurality of votes in the first round of voting on 11 October, garnering 28.3% of the vote. This qualified him to compete in a run-off election against Sirleaf, the second placed candidate. However, he lost the run-off to Sirleaf on 8 November, garnering only 40.6% to 59.4% for Sirleaf. Weah alleged that the election had been rigged through voter intimidation and ballot tampering, and many of his supporters protested the results in the streets of Monrovia. However, after assurances that the vote was fair, several prominent African leaders called on Weah's supporters to accept the result with grace and dignity, and Sirleaf became president. The African Union had characterised the election as "peaceful, transparent, and fair".
Weah's lack of education became a campaign issue. He has been highly critical of those who say he is not fit to govern: "With all their education and experience, they have governed this nation for hundreds of years. They have never done anything for the nation." He initially claimed to have a BA degree in sport management from Parkwood University in London; however, this is an unaccredited diploma mill, which awards certificates without requiring study. Weah then pursued a degree in business administration at DeVry University in Miami. Liberia's George Weah to Seek a College Degree. Voice of America. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2009 George Weah gets educated in quest for election. USA Today. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2010
In 2014, he ran for election to the Senate of Liberia as a Congress for Democratic Change candidate in Montserrado County. He was elected to the Liberian Senate on 20 December 2014. Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Sirleaf, becoming the first Liberian international athlete elected to represent a county in the legislature. He won a landslide victory, receiving 99,226 votes, which represented 78.0% of the total votes from the 141 polling centers, while Sirleaf, his closest rival received 13,692 votes, which is nearly 11% in the election marred only by a low turnout. Montserrado County NEC Liberia Following his election, Weah only occasionally attended sessions of the Senate and did not introduce or sponsor any legislation.
In 2019 inflation went as high as 28%. It made many Liberians to worry which led protests called "Save the State" in Monrovia and in Washington, D.C.
In September 2019, Weah attended the National Economic Dialogue (NED), seeking solutions amidst Liberia's economic crisis. A host of organizations rallied to develop a comprehensive program aimed at bolstering Liberia's economy. Weah urged Liberians to use the Dialogue as a national platform to craft strategies and offer workable solutions for the crisis. The forum yielded several recommendations, some of which are listed below:
During his second year in office, Weah and his administration witnessed a deterioration in the economy, with inflation reaching 30%. This economic downturn, coupled with payment delays, triggered protests against which the police employed tear gas and water cannons.
During his fourth State of the Nation address, President Weah presented a series of proposed economic policies and legislative reforms, aiming to address the worsening economic conditions.
After Weah came to power, Liberia's unemployment rate increased from 3% in 2017 to 4.1%. The Liberian economy grew 1–5% in the first five years of his administration (2018–2022).
On 29 January 2018, Weah announced he would seek constitutional changes to allow people of different ethnic descent to be citizens and allow foreigners to own land. He called the present situation "racist and inappropriate".
On 12 September 2020, he declared a national emergency over sexual violence in the country, pledging to create a special prosecutor for rape, a national sex offender registry, and a national task force to tackle the issue. He further announced a 2 million dollar emergency fund, part of which was used to purchase DNA-testing equipment for forensic identification of perpetrators. However, as of March 2022, the DNA-testing equipment had yet to be made functional. As well, the special prosecutor had yet to be appointed, the sex offender registry had yet to be implemented, and specialized gender-based violence courts had only been implemented in three of the sixteen Liberian counties.
Weah signed a drug bill into law which passed by the legislature after months. The law aimed to regulate, restrict, control, limit, or eradicate the illegal export and importation as well as the flagrant use, abuse, and proliferation of narcotics within the nation.
Months before the 2023 election, he accepted the endorsement of the Bassa people for re-election. They did this because "he has the competence and passion to develop Liberia."
Under his presidency Liberia has made improvements to education by constructing and renovating schools to make sure children have better education and environment.
He made a visit to China to congratulate Xi Jinping on his re-election. President Weah said he looked forward to further cementing the strong ties that exist between both countries since establishment between both nations.
In July 2023, he met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss topics of cementing ties, trade, cooperation on international affairs, peace, and security.
"It could be your mother, it could be your dad, your brothers or your sisters. Let's all stand together to fight this dirty virus"-an extract from President Weah's song on a reggae rhythm. The majority of people in Liberia do not have internet or Facebook access, but radio is a popular and very accessible form of entertainment in the African country.. The song would be played on various stations across the country to properly broadcast the message, according to the president's spokesperson.Weah had already recorded a song against Ebola.
Weah practiced Islam for ten years before converting to Christianity. In October 2017, he was spotted in the church of prominent Nigerian pastor T. B. Joshua alongside Liberian senator Prince Johnson. Joshua was allegedly a key influence in Johnson's decision to endorse Weah's candidacy in the 2017 election.
Weah holds French citizenship and speaks French fluently.
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