Highest paid African footballers and their earnings

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.

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.

Highest paid African footballers and earnings 2017

1. Yaya Toure

Weekly wage: $330,000

Country: Ivory Coast

Club: Manchester City

Position: Central Midfielder

2 . Pierre Emerick Aubameyang

Weekly wage: $227,000

Country: Gabon

Club: Borussia Dortmund

Position: Striker

3. Gervinho

Weekly wage: $221,000

Country: Ivory Coast

Club: Hebei China Fortune

Position: Striker

4. Mohammed Salah

Weekly wages: $160,000

Country: Egypt

Club: Liverpool

Position: Winger

5. Wilfried Zaha

Weekly wages: $147,000

Country: Ivory Coast

Club: Crystal Palace

Position: Winger

6. Stephane Mbia

Weekly wage: $144,000

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

Country: Algeria

Club: Leicester City

Position: Winger

s9. Obafemi Martin

Weekly wages: $133,000

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

Country: Ivory Coast

Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Position: Right-back

12=. Mehdi Benatia

Weekly wages: $107,000

Country: Morocco

Club: Juventus

Position: Centre-back

12=. Andre Ayew

Weekly wages: $107,000

Country: Ghana

Club: West Ham United

Position: Striker

12=. Yannick Bolasie

Weekly wages: $107,000

Country: Democratic Republic of Congo

Club: Everton

Position: Winger

15=. Victor Moses

Weekly wages: $100,000

Country: Nigeria

Club: Chelsea

Position: Left-back, right-back, winger

15=. Eric Bailly

Weekly wages: $100,000

Country: Ivory Coast

Club: Manchester United

Position: Centre-back

17. Joel Matip

Weekly wages: $93,000

Country: Cameroon

Club: Liverpool

Position: Centre-back

18. Ahmed Musa

Weekly wages: $80,000

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. 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?