Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (R) celebrates after scoring with Liverpool’s Senegalese midfielder Sadio Mane during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Liverpool at The London Stadium, in east London on November 4, 2017.
Who are the highest paid African footballers in the world?
Liverpool are building a team of highly-paid, highly-skilled African players. We’re all for it…
Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (R) celebrates after scoring with Liverpool’s Senegalese midfielder Sadio Mane during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Liverpool at The London Stadium, in east London on November 4, 2017.
We’re telling you now, this list of the highest paid African footballers will throw you a few curveballs. So it may be wise to start expecting the unexpected.
It does, however, feature every nominee for Africa’s Footballer of the Year. So there’s no screaming injustices just yet. We also look at one player who is set to be a huge earner, and another who’s completed a spectacular fall from grace.
Highest earning African soccer players
We’ve condensed our list into a handy top 20. Liverpool fans will be pleased to know they have a monopoly on well-paid African talent, claiming four players on the countdown. In total, 13 of the 20 stars mentioned ply their trade in the EPL.
Unfortunately, there are no South African players in sight. But you can treat yourself to our list of the highest earning ABSA PSL footballers here. Our advice for the pros? If the English Premier League won’t have you, get on the next flight to China…
Highest paid African footballers and earnings 2017
1. Yaya Toure
Weekly wage: $330,000 / R4.5 million
Country: Ivory Coast
Club: Manchester City
Position: Central Midfielder
2 . Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
Weekly wage: $227,000 / R3.1 million
Country: Gabon
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Striker
3. Gervinho
Weekly wage: $221,000 / R3 million
Country: Ivory Coast
Club: Hebei China Fortune
Position: Striker
4. Mohammed Salah
Weekly wages: $160,000 / R2.19 million
Country: Egypt
Club: Liverpool
Position: Winger
5. Wilfried Zaha
Weekly wages: $147,000 / R2 million
Country: Ivory Coast
Club: Crystal Palace
Position: Winger
6. Stephane Mbia
Weekly wage: $144,000 / R1.97 million
Country: Cameroon
Club: Hebei China Fortune
Position: Defensive Midfield
7. Demba Ba
Weekly wages: $139,000 / $1.9 million
Country: Senegal
Club: Shanghai Shenhua
Position: Striker
8. Riyadh Mahrez
Weekly wages: $134,000 / 1.81 million
Country: Algeria
Club: Leicester City
Position: Winger
9. Obafemi Martins
Weekly wages: $133,000 / R1.8 million
Country: Nigeria
Club: Shanghai Shenhua
Position: Striker
10. Sadio Mane
Weekly wages: $120,000
Country: Senegal
Club: Liverpool
Position: Striker
11. Serge Aurier
Weekly wages: $116,000 / R1.59 million
Country: Ivory Coast
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Position: Right-back
12=. Mehdi Benatia
Weekly wages: $107,000 / R1.46 million
Country: Morocco
Club: Juventus
Position: Centre-back
12=. Andre Ayew
Weekly wages: $107,000 / R1.46 million
Country: Ghana
Club: West Ham United
Position: Striker
12=. Yannick Bolasie
Weekly wages: $107,000 / R1.46 million
Country: Democratic Republic of Congo
Club: Everton
Position: Winger
15=. Victor Moses
Weekly wages: $100,000 / R1.37 million
Country: Nigeria
Club: Chelsea
Position: Left-back, right-back, winger
15=. Eric Bailly
Weekly wages: $100,000 / R1.37 million
Country: Ivory Coast
Club: Manchester United
Position: Centre-back
17. Joel Matip
Weekly wages: $93,000 / R1.27 million
Country: Cameroon
Club: Liverpool
Position: Centre-back
18. Ahmed Musa
Weekly wages: $80,000 / R1.09 million
Country: Nigeria
Club: Leicester City
Position: Striker
Honorouble mention:
19. Naby Keita
RB Leipzig’s commanding defensive midfielder was snapped-up by Liverpool in the last transfer window, but the African Footballer of the Year nominee won’t actually join the reds until next season.
When the Guinean does make his way to Anfield, he’ll be earning between $133,000 – $266,000 a week. That’s a maximum intake of R3.6 million every seven days. Wow.
Dishonourable mention:
20. Asamoah Gyan
Less than 12 months ago, he was raking in $301,000 a week – more than R4 million. He would have been second in the list of highest paid African footballers. Now, Gyan has always been a money-chaser, but 2017 was the year that he could no longer justify his gargantuan wages.
A public falling out with his former club Shanghai Shenhua saw him farmed out on loan to Dubai’s Al-Ahli, and then sent packing to Turkish mid-table dwellers Kayserispor. He now makes a yearly salary of $669,000, at $12,000-a-week. And this is what Asamoah is calling a tough time, eh?
Thank you to Soccer Laduma for most of the information. And thanks to The Guardian, TSM Sports, The Sun and yen.com for further information on players and their income.
