Africa is home to many incredibly gifted football players, many of whom are well-known worldwide. For certain other footballers, like these five African prospects to look out for in 2024, time is on their side.
Photo: Riyad Mahrez (screenshot youtube.com/@nianzo_visuals)
Due to the attractive contracts offered by the Saudi Pro League last year, several of the best football players in Africa have chosen to play in Saudi Arabia. Without question, the Saudi Pro League has attracted far more interest with the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, N’Golo Kanté, and many other football superstars than it has in the past. But prominent African athletes like Kalidou Koulibaly, Sadio Mané, and Riyad Mahrez also found their place there and fetch high monthly salaries in this Middle Eastern nation.
Based on information from various online sources, we examine the top-paid African football players of 2024 here. Let’s start in the reverse order, from the lowest- to the highest-paid of the top 10 African footballers…
# 10 Iñaki Williams (Ghana)
The current gross yearly pay of 29-year-old striker Iñaki Williams of Athletic Bilbao from La Liga is £9.7 million, plus £187,585 per week (not including bonuses).
At the Spanish club, the Ghanaian is a legend. He has been a top performer for the Basque club for almost ten years.
# 9 Thomas Partey (Ghana)
Thomas Partey is another eminent player from Ghana on the list. Notable performances of the West African nation’s footballers in the past two decades or so (Abedi Pele, Michael Essien, Samuel Kuffour, etc.) led to the rise of sports betting there (the fact that Ghana is one of the very few nations in Africa that allows sports betting in addition to land-based and online casinos helped the ongoing trend), with more and more Ghana betting sites becoming available and rated at reviewing platforms like Bookmaker Expert.
Partey signed with London’s Arsenal in 2020 after an outstanding tenure at Atlético Madrid, and “The Gunners” gave him a generous contract-based salary.
Arsenal paid £45 million to sign the Ghanaian to the English Premier League, where he’ll receive a £10.4 million yearly salary and a £200,000 weekly wage after he exercised his release clause at Atlético.
# 8 Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
At Napoli, Victor Osimhen—the current African Football Player of the Year—earns a weekly salary of £211,000 and an estimated annual salary of £11 million. Top teams have taken notice of his outstanding performance, raising hopes for a significant wage boost.
According to reports, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea are among the Premier League teams fighting for the 25-year-old Nigerian international’s signing. Concerning this interest, unofficially, Osimhen’s income may more than treble from his current deal with the Serie A team.
# 7 Franck Kessié (Ivory Coast)
Franck Kessié, an Ivory Coast midfielder, makes £12 million a year and £230,000 a week at Al-Ahli, a Saudi Arabian club. The AC Milan center midfielder gained notoriety before moving to Barcelona in the summer of 2022.
After a difficult year in Spain, he transferred to the Saudi Pro League team and has been earning a large income ever since.
# 6 Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Achraf Hakimi, who’s regarded as one of the world’s most gifted fullbacks, is among the highest-paid African football players.
With experience at Real Madrid and Inter Milan, the 25-year-old Moroccan phenomenon at PSG makes almost £239,418 a week in the “Les Parisiens”.
# 5 Seko Fofana (Ivory Coast)
Ivory Coast midfielder and former Lens star chose to shock everyone by unexpectedly joining Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, despite interest from elite European clubs.
The 28-year-old, who is currently on loan at Al-Ettifaq, a different Saudi Pro League team, earns more than £250,000 a week in salary in addition to an estimated £13 million annually.
# 4 Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
In response to interest from the lucrative Saudi Pro League, Liverpool decided to present Mohamed Salah with an alluring new deal in the summer of 2022, which would have paid him £350,000 a week and £18.2 million a year.
Throughout his time at Liverpool, the 31-year-old Egyptian striker has regularly impressed and established himself as an essential member of Jürgen Klopp’s side.
# 3 Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)
In 2022, Kalidou Koulibaly left Napoli to join Chelsea in the Premier League, already having created a name for himself as one of the top center-backs in Europe. But he struggled to keep up with the fast-paced English Premier League, which forced him to leave and sign with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.
The 32-year-old captain of the Senegalese National Team currently earns an astounding £30 million a year in salary in addition to a remarkable £570,984 weekly remuneration. Compared to his Chelsea salary of £295,000, this represents a substantial boost.
# 2 Sadio Mané (Senegal)
Sadio Mané left the Bundesliga after a difficult 2022–2023 season at Bayern Munich to take advantage of a lucrative opportunity with Al-Nassr.
The former striker for Liverpool is currently the second-highest-paid African footballer in the world, earning an estimated £34 million annually and £658,194 per week in Saudi Arabia.
# 1 Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
After five years at the Etihad Stadium, Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who’s currently the highest-paid African football player in the world, signed a £30 million deal to join Al Ahli of the Saudi Pro League from Manchester City.
Mahrez is paid an incredible £45 million a year, which translates to an estimated weekly pay of £858,944, or more than £123,000 a day. Compared to his former weekly revenues of roughly £160,000 before taxes, this is a huge gain.
Mahrez, 33, looks to be enjoying his stay in Saudi Arabia; he has already tallied 10 goals and nine assists in his first 22 Saudi Pro League games.
Conclusion
A tremendous amount of football talent has been migrating from Africa, primarily to Europe, since the 21st century began. Many talented foreigners have come to England, particularly in the Premier League, but the African players have reached a worldwide audience like never before. A growing number of pros from the continent have played for some of the top teams all over throughout the years, making them some of the most-paid football players in the world.
Particularly in recent years, player salaries have continued to rise, and they are currently at a level that was once unthinkable. Having stated that, we’ve made the decision to examine the top 10 African football players in terms of income worldwide and publish such a list above.