The Most Expensive African Footballers
Stars of African origin have demonstrated strength in recent transfer windows.
The most expensive African footballers have made major marks on the pitch and also in the transfer market and with considerably huge influence.
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In the past, their price tag didn’t make a huge noise in Europe Europe, America, and Asia. But in recent times, African players have checked this history as they now break transfer records of clubs in the European top-flight leagues and other continents.
Here, we compile a list of the most expensive African footballers and their transfer fees.
10. Sadio Mane
Mane must have left a good mark in the hearts of the Liverpool fans after spending 6 successful years at the club.
He was signed by Southampton for over £37 million.
Mane will be pitching his trade this season with Bayern Munich after the expiration of his contract at Liverpool.
He joined the Bavarians in a deal worth £41 million to retain the 10th spot in the ranking.
9. Mohammed Salah
Premier League giants, Liverpool signed Mo’Salah for an initial £36.9 million in 2017, with some reports suggesting that the price could rise to £43.9 million in add-ons.
He is currently miles away at the top of the highest-paid players in Africa after renewing his contract with the Merseyside this summer.
A deal that will pay the Egyptian captain close to £400,000 per week.
8. Thomas Partey
Arsenal signed Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid on deadline day in the summer of 2020 after meeting his £45m release clause.
After a bright start, the 29-year-old midfielder had a mixed last season with injuries, the last injury sidelined him for 9 straight matches however he has recovered instead of the 2022/23 season.
7. Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Manchester United Ole Gunnar Solskjer spent £49.5 million on the Congolese star.
He was deemed to be the ideal Valencia replacement in United’s right-back position.
Recently, the player has been subject to transfer rumors linking him to his former club, Crystal Palace, as their new coach, Erik Ten Hag has deemed him surplus to requirement.
6. Naby Keita
Naby Keita was also signed by Jurgen Klopp in 2017. The deal was worth around £60 million.
He has since then failed to break into Klopp’s trusted eleven due to lack of playing time and also the coach’s preference for the midfield trio of Henderson, Fabinho, and Thiago.
His career has also been marred by injuries.
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5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Arsenal paid a whooping £63 million to land the Gabonese striker from Borrusia Dortmund.
He needed no time to adjust as he banged in 92 goals in 163 games for the Gunners, securing the golden boot in the 2018/19 season also the FA Cup in 2020.
After a mixup with coach Mikel Arteta, the former Dortmund player signed for Barcelona in 2022, scoring 11 goals in the just-concluded season.
4. Riyad Mahrez
Manchester City broke their club record to sign the Algerian wizard Riyad Mahrez in a £60 million deal from Leicester.
Before the move, Riyad Mahrez was part of an underdog Leicester team that won the Premier League in 2016.
A City player since 2018, he was also part of the Pep Guadiola team that won the domestic treble in 2018/19 season.
The Man City winger has flourished under his current despite being rotated with Sterling and also Jack Grealish.
However, Sterling is set to complete a move to Chelsea. The Premier League champion is set to play a proper role in the City side come next season.
3. Cedric Bakambu
Chinese side, Beijing Guoan, made a bumper bid of £65 million to sign Bakambu from Villareal after the striker had a productive season with the yellow submarines scoring 15 goals during the 2017-18 season.
He was the most expensive player in Africa when the move was officially announced.
2. Victor Osimhen
The Nigerian striker joined the Serie A giants in a big-money transfer having been linked with several top European clubs this summer.
Napoli paid £68 million for the signing of Victor Osimhen. The young striker was prolific in his first season scoring 14 goals and making a further 2 assist in 29 matches.
1. Nicolas Pepe
Pepe retains his number one spot since he became Africa’s most expensive player in 2019, earning his place among the most expensive African footballers.
Arsenal dished out £72 million to bring the Lille superstar to England.
He was in form at Lille scoring 22 goals and 11 assists in his last season before making the big-money move.
However, he has had an underwhelming career at Arsenal, finding it difficult to hit the ground running.
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