15 highest-paid African footballers in the world | OneFootball

Highlights

Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a huge influx of footballing talent coming from Africa. The Premier League has seen plenty of foreign talent come to England, but the game has gone global to a level that it has never previously reached. Over the years, more and more players from the continent have played for some of the world's biggest clubs and, as a result, they've become some of the highest-paid footballers on the planet.

In recent years, especially, the level of wages being paid to players has only gotten higher and higher, and it's currently at a level that seemed unimaginable not too long ago. With that being said, we've decided to take a look at the 15 highest-paid African footballers on the planet.

15 Abdoulaye Doucoure - £130,000-a-week

Everton

While Everton have wasted a lot of money on useless players over the last decade, the money they've spent on Abdoulaye Doucoure has been very much worth it, and they clearly agreed, offering him a brand-new contract late in 2023. The new deal saw his wage rise to £130,000 a week, making him one of the highest-paid African footballers in the world.

He's deserved it, though, becoming a key player this season at Goodison Park as the club look to work their way back from a 10-point deduction and maintain their position in the Premier League under Sean Dyche's guidance. It won't be easy, but if Doucoure keeps playing at the level has been throughout the campaign, and they manage to stay up, he'll have earned every penny of his expensive salary.

14 Noussair Mazraoui - £131,639-a-week

Bayern Munich

After several impressive seasons at Ajax, Bayern Munich signed Noussair Mazraoui in the summer of 2022 and did so with some pretty big wages. He had been a key figure for the Dutch club, but that hasn't quite been the case during his time in Germany so far. This campaign, he's played just 11 times in the Bundesliga and hasn't really done enough to justify his salary.

He's still just 26 years old, though, and has another two-and-a-half years left on his deal, so there's plenty of him for him to turn things around and maybe even earn a pay-rise, but it's hard to imagine so right now considering the current situation.

13 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - £138,221-a-week

Marseille

It's a testament to how wild spending has gotten within football that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is earning close to £140,000 a week playing for a team like Marseille. Now, the French club have quite the legacy, but they aren't known for spending this sort of cash, but they did so when they signed the former Arsenal and Chelsea man last summer.

He's having a fine debut campaign at the club too, with 21 goal contributions throughout all competitions so far, ensuring he's more than justified the lofty salary that he's on. Aubameyang might be in his twilight years now, but he's proving he can still compete at a high level.

12 Yassine Bounou - £164,549-a-week

Al-Hilal

The first goalkeeper on this list, but not the last, Yassine Bounou had just won a Europa League trophy with Sevilla when he decided to leave the Spanish club and move to the Saudi Pro League. When looking at the wages that Al-Hilal were willing to pay him, who can blame him? The shot-stopper is a fantastic player and actually won the Player of the Match award in the Europa League final as Sevilla beat AS Roma and was a massive grab for Al-Hilal.

He's been a key figure for the Saudi Arabian side too. They're currently sat first in the league, well clear of second place and seemed almost guaranteed to get their hands on the trophy by the time all is said and done. He's been fantastic for them and has definitely earned his wages so far.

11 Edouard Mendy - £181,003-a-week

Al-Ahli

Another goalkeeper who made the move to the Saudi Pro League last summer, and became one of the highest-paid African footballers in the world in the process, is Edouard Mendy. The former Chelsea man had a brief, yet eventful time at Stamford Bridge, first coming in as the first-choice keeper, before falling out of favour.

He left for Al-Ahli last summer and was offered a massive salary to make the move. He's been ever-present for the side this year too, playing in all 19 of their league games. The club currently sit in third place in the table and have lost just three times all year. Not bad.

10 Inaki Williams - £187,585-a-week

Athletic Bilbao

Spending pretty much his entire senior career at Athletic Bilbao, it's quite fitting that Inaki Williams has been rewarded by the club with such a large weekly wage. The forward is a legend at the Spanish club and has been performing at a high level for them for close to a decade now.

Despite constant rumours about a move away, he's never forced himself out of Bilbao and has remained focused on the team throughout his entire run. There are few club icons quite like him in the world, and he's deserving of every penny he gets from Bilbao. With his current contract running until the summer of 2028, it's unlikely he'll be leaving anytime soon either.

9 Thomas Partey - £200,000-a-week

Arsenal

After impressing at Atletico Madrid, Arsenal signed Thomas Partey in 2020 and right off the bat, offered him pretty large wages. The Gunners activated his release clause at Atletico and paid £45m to bring him to England while paying him £200,000 a week once he made the move.

He's been a dependable figure in the middle of the park for Mikel Arteta's side ever since, but considering he's now 30 years old, has played just four league games this season and his contract expires next summer, it's hard to imagine he'll be making this sort of money for much longer.

8 Victor Osimhen - £211,000-a-week

Napoli

While a lot of the players on this list are likely earning the most they ever will, Victor Osimhen is a star who's almost guaranteed to earn a pay-rise in the near future. The striker has been nothing short of sublime for Napoli in Serie A over the last few years, and with so many clubs keen to take him off of the Italian club's hands, it feels safe to assume he'll be on the receiving end of another bumper contract soon.

With clubs like Chelsea interested, there's no telling just how much Osimhen will earn in the future, but it will likely see him climb this list quite significantly. He's earned it too. There are few goalscorers of his calibre on the planet, and considering he only recently signed the new deal, he's going to cost a hell of a lot to pry away.

7 Franck Kessie - £230,368-a-week

Al-Ahli

After a short break, we're back with another star who's earning major money in the Saudi Pro League. It's another player on Al-Ahli's books too, as Franck Kessie is earning just over £230,000 a week at the Saudi Arabian club. The Ivory Coast international made a name for himself at AC Milan but joined Barcelona in the summer of 2022.

His time in Spain was rough, and after just a year, he moved to Al-Ahli and has been on a very nice salary ever since. He's more than doing enough to earn it as well. In 21 appearances for his new club this season, he's already scored six times. Not bad for a centre midfielder.

6 Achraf Hakimi - £239,418-a-week

PSG

One of the most talented full-backs in the world, you could argue that Achraf Hakimi should probably actually be on more money considering just how many teams have been interested in him over the years. The clubs he's played for read like a real who's-who of top European sides. Starting with Real Madrid, it was a loan spell at Borussia Dortmund that saw him emerge as an elite talent.

He then spent one season at Inter Milan and flourished in Italy, before Paris Saint-Germain spent big to bring him to France in 2021. In the years since, the Moroccan has regularly been one of the Ligue 1 club's standout stars and considering he's still just 25 years old, he might be due a pay-rise in the future too.

5 Seko Fofana - £250,114-a-week

Al-Nassr

Seko Fofana was an impressive talent who had caught the attention of several clubs around Europe during his time at Lens, but he made the surprising decision to move to the Saudi Pro League and join forces with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr instead. As a result, he was handed a salary of over a quarter of a million pounds a week, so it's easy to see why he made the call.

The midfielder hasn't had quite as much success in Saudi Arabia as he did in France, though, and after half a season with Al-Nassr, he's been loaned to fellow Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq. Hopefully, he can rediscover his form at the club, otherwise, it won't be long before that lofty salary is looked at as a huge mistake.

4 Mohamed Salah - £350,000-a-week

Liverpool

We take a big jump now as the next player on this list is making almost £100,000 more a week than Fofana, but when it's Mohamed Salah, is anyone really that surprised? The Egyptian has been a sensation at Liverpool and it can't be overstated just how important he's been to Jurgen Klopp's side over the years.

The club has benefitted tremendously from his presence over the last few years, and it's hard to imagine they'd have been half as successful if they hadn't brought him into the fold back in 2017. With so many clubs interested in prying him away from Anfield, the Reds decided to offer Salah a bumper new deal on £350,000 a week in the summer of 2022, but considering just how good he's been this year, it was the right call.

3 Kalidou Koulibaly - £570,984-a-week

Al-Hilal

We're getting into the quite frankly ridiculous numbers now. After making a name for himself at Napoli as one of the best centre-backs in Europe, Kalidou Koulibaly joined Chelsea in 2022. He may have waited too long, though, as by the time he came to the Premier League, he was on the wrong side of 30 and struggled to keep up with the pace of the English top flight.

He left Stamford Bridge after just one season with the Blues, joining Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. He did so, pocketing a monumental £570,984 a week which is an astonishing figure for the 32-year-old. It's hard to say whether he's earned such a massive figure, but he's definitely helped his club establish a healthy lead at the top of the league and seems almost certain to win the trophy at the end of the season, so there's that.

2 Sadio Mane - £658,194-a-week

Al-Nassr

After a solitary season at Bayern Munich, where Sadio Mane failed to replicate the form he'd shown at Liverpool, he was offered a ridiculous salary to join Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. £658,194 every single week is a wild number. The forward has earned a reputation for being one of the most electric players in the world, though, following his exploits at Anfield.

He's a huge star and a recognisable face, something which the Saudi Pro League was desperate to add over the summer. He was one of many players who came to Saudi Arabia and was offered massive money to do so. Only one African player is currently on more money than he is a week and that's another former Premier League man who joined the Saudi Pro League last summer.

1 Riyad Mahrez - £858,944-a-week

Al-Ahli

The highest-paid African footballer in the world. It's hard to imagine anyone predicting that would be the case when Riyad Mahrez first signed for Leicester City back in 2014. The forward has become one of the best players in the world since then, though, winning the Premier League with the Foxes and becoming a megastar in the process.

He then went on to join Manchester City and was a focal point to Pep Guardiola's dominance there for several years. Now, at 32 years old, he's earning more money than he ever has in his life. Close to £1m a week at his age is pretty wild. He's scored nine times and recorded seven assists in his first 20 games for Al-Ahli, so it's not quite blistering form, but still quite impressive.