Former Chelsea striker elected president of Liberia

The 1995 Fifa World Player of the Year wins presidential election in west African country

Soccer world rejoices with one of its own as George Wear celebrates election victory

Former Liberia international George Weah has been elected the 25th President of Liberia after securing 12 of the 15 counties in the country.

The ex-goal merchant, a three-time African Footballer of the Year and the first African player to win the Ballon d'Or defeated Joseph Boakai and will now succeed the first elected female president in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

And the football world joined the former Chelsea, AC Milan, PSG, Monaco, Manchester City and Marseille forward in the celebration by taking to Twitter to congratulate him on his victory at the polls.

The ex-Chelsea man is not known for his political nous but his clout as a footballing icon garners him significant support amongst the youth of Liberia, where 60% of the population is under the age of 30.

Weah topped the first round of voting in October but didn't secure the 50% needed to win outright. The runoff was delayed twice after allegations of voting fraud and irregularities but Weah's popularity won out in the end.