Football
is by a long shot the most well known game all around the world. Like different
landmasses, Africa hasn't been left behind in creating some of Football best
players.
Aside
from representing their Countries these players, have joined different top
clubs where they earn handsomely.
Their
salaries coupled with lucrative endorsement deals from some of world's
wealthiest companies has enabled them to boost their net worth's and become
millionaires.
Below is the full list of Africa richest Footballers of all time.
16.Jay Jay Okocha – $15 Million
Jay Jay Okocha is regarded as one of the greatest players from Africa, winning the Nigeria Player of the Year award seven times and twice scooped the BBC Africa best player prize.
The mercurial midfielder had a stellar club career in Europe playing for clubs like Bolton Wanderers, PSG and Eintracht Frankfurt.
15.Odion Ighalo – $20 Million
Odion Jude Ighalo is a Nigerian footballer who currently plays for the English Premier League (EPL) side, Manchester United, on loan.
Ighalo is paid $150,000 during his loan spell at Manchester united which half the pay he was receiving from his parent club Shanghai Shenhua.
14. Kevin Prince Boateng
Kevin Prince Boateng's career has been a crazy one considering the number of clubs he has played for.
Beginning his career in the Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin, Boateng was voted Germany's best young player in 2006 before sealing a transfer to Tottenham in 2007.
After leaving Tottenham in 2009, Boateng has been Jumping from one club to another. Some of the clubs include Ac Milan, Portsmouth, Genoa, Fc Barcelona, Fiorentina, Borrussia Dortmund among others.
13.
Asamoah Gyan
Although
his club career hasn't been as high profile as the rest of players in this
list, Asamoah has been one of the most lethal African strikers in recent years.
Asamoah
Gyan is the leading goal scorer for Ghana national team having bagged 51 goals
with 6 at the world cup making him the best coring African player at the event.
Some
of high profile clubs Gyan played for include Sunderland, Udinese and UAE
Pro-League club Al Ain.
His
net worth today is estimated to be $25 million.
12.
Victor Moses
The former Super eagles forward joined Premier league outfit Chelsea from Wigan in 2012.
The Nigerian was an important part of
a Blues side that won the Premier League title under Antonio Conte in the
2016/17 campaign.
He spent the better part of his time at Chelsea on loan at Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Inter Milan among other clubs
11.
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Lagos-born Nigerian
football player who has been involved in professional football for 2 decades.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Obafemi Martins is
worth $25 million. He has managed to earn this huge amount of money through
playing for various football clubs, such as Inter Milan, New Castle United, VfL
Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan, Birmingham City, Levante, the Seattle Sounders F.C. and
Shanghai Shenhua. Obafemi has also played for the Nigerian national team.
10.
Pierre Emrick Aubameyang
The
former African player of the year has been one of the continents most lethal
forward scoring goals for fun for club and country thanks to his pace, finishing, and off-ball movement.
The
Gabon skipper is currently tied to a 3 year contract with premier league club
Arsenal where he earns $470,000 per week making him the best paid African
footballer and one of the best paid players in the premier league.
Aubameyang net worth today is $30 million attributed to his huge salary and sponsorship
deal with Nike and other brands.
9.
Sadio Mane
Known for dribbling skills, agility and pace, Sadio Mane is one of the most feared wingers in football today.
The Senegalese transfer from Southampton to reigning premier league champions Liverpool cost the club $42 million.
The 28 old currently earns $200,000 at Anefield with his contract running to 2023.
Sadio Mane has several sponsorship and
endorsement deals- the major being the shoe deal with New Balance. He
also makes money from endorsement deals from Western Union, and Indonesia
Tourism.
8. Michael Essien – $32 Million
Michael Essien started his career at
Liberty Professionals before he pursued his career abroad.
He played for Bastia, before he was spotted by French giants Lyon. He won the French Footballer of the year in 2005 and was signed by Jose Mourinho to Chelsea.
At the time of signing for chelsea he became Africa's most expensive footballer costing the club $32 million.
Essien was also capped for Ghana National team more than 50 times.
7. Kolo Toure – $40 Million
Kolo Toure is an Ivorian footballer who has a net worth of $40 million dollars. Born Kolo Habib Touré on 19 March 1981, in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, he played as a central defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and the Ivory Coast national team
6.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Despite having a controversy ridden career its with no doubt Emanuel Adebayor has been one the finest strikers Africa has produced.
From for prestigious European clubs such as Monaco, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Tottenham to guiding his country Togo to 2006 world cup, Adebayor has had quite a career.
The Togolese has a net worth of $45 million according to Celebrity Net Worth
5.
John Obi Mikel
The former Chelsea midfielder and Nigeria international has had a stellar career.
Now on the blink of retirement, Mikel plies his trade at Stoke City FC.
The Nigerian has a net worth of $45 million attributed huge salary and endorsement deals.
4.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed salah has established himself as one of the worlds finest footballers and arguably the greatest African footballer of his generation.
He has scooped numerous awards since his move from AS Roma to Liverpool including been named African footballer of the year twice and also winning premier league and UEFA Champions league with Liverpool.
The fast paced forward earns $300,000 per week at Liverpool and was ranked the 34th best paid athlete in the world by Forbes in 2020.
He has a net worth of $70 million.
3.
Yaya Toure
The four times African player of the year had a stellar career for both Coted I'vore and Manchester City.
He won he won the premier league title 3 times with Manchester city and AFCON with the Elephants.
At Manchester city, Toure was
picking up a basic wage of £185,000 a week before tax but the figure was
expected to increase to £221,000 when the Government's 50% tax bracket comes
into force.
He has a staggering net
worth of $80 million.
2.
Didier Drogba
The
former Ivory coast international had a great career at Chelsea Football Club
where he is legendary. He was crucial as chelsea won the premier league 3 times
and UEFA Champions league in 2012.
He
is Coted Ivore all time leading scorer having managed 65 goals in 105
appearances for his country. During his prime years at Chelsea, he was one of
the best paid football stars.
He has also enjoyed from a number of endorsement deals with
multinational companies like Pepsi, just to mention, but a few.
1.Samuel
Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o is one of the most decorated Africa footballers
of all the time. He won numerous individual awards ranging from African
footballer of year and helped his national team Cameroon win a couple of
trophies.
He played for renowned clubs such as FC Barcelona, Inter
Milan, Chelsea and and retired from playing professional football in 2019.
He was once the best paid footballer in the world while
playing for Russian side Anzhi Makachkala where he was earning $25 million
annually.
Eto'o earned his fortune from salaries and endorsement deals from brands like PUMA and also owns a couple of businesses in his home country Cameroon. His net worth is estimated to be $140 million.