African football is loaded with some big talents in several leagues, players from in and out of the continent ply their trades and not just ply but also earn well.
From the small ones to the averagely decent and up to the big spenders up North, there are plenty of players who cost fortunes and also earn well.
In Djibouti, Arta/Solar7 has some forgotten big names in its ranks, some Nigerian clubs previously acquired some Brazilian players Angolan club sides have been observing the big spending of Petro Atletico of Luanda lately.
However, where do these clubs rank with respect to the big spenders in North Africa and South Africa?
NaijNaira looks at the top ten highest-paid players in African leagues.
Ten MOST Expensive footballers playing in Africa
10. Hamdi Fathi – €1.5M – Al Ahly SC
Hamdi Fathi is an Egyptian international who played for ENPPI and Petrojet before joining Al Ahly in 2019.
He cost Al Ahly €1.5M to secure his services in 2019 and is one of the most expensive buys in the continent.
9. Walid El Karti – €1.68M – Pyramids FC
El Karti is an experienced Moroccan defender who plays for the national team and was on the books of Wydad Casablanca.
It took Pyramids FC €1.68M to drag the defender from Morocco to Egypt in 2021.
8. Percy Tau – €1.8M – Al Ahly SC
South African forward Percy Tau moved from Sundowns to Brighton in the Premier League and some Belgian clubsides but his meagre success outside the continent meant he was always going to be open to a return to Africa.
He did return but not to Sundowns in South Africa but rather to Al Ahly who forked out €1.8M to bring him to Cairo at the request of a man he worked with for a long period, Pitso Mosimane.
7. Abdelmoumene Djabou – €2M – ES Sétifienne
Algerian giants Es Setif take the number seven spot with the acquisition of experienced Algerian player Abdelmoumene Djabou for €2M.
Abdelmoumene Djabou surprisingly started his career at Es Setif before moving around to Club African and MC Alger.
He made a second return to the club between 2016 and 2019 but his third return to the club in 2021 cost the club more than previous acquisitions.
6. Ali Gabr – €2.15M – Pyramids FC
Here comes the big spenders again, Pyramids’ FC rise to the top to contend with the likes of Zamalek and Al Ahly needed huge financial investments and one of them is Ali Gabr.
The Egyptian centre-back was with Zamalek for a long time and even played with West Brom for a while before returning to Egypt.
5. Junior Ajayi – €2.5M – Smouha SC
Junior Ajayi was once ruling Cairo and the whole of Egypt with the Al Ahly team but with the arrival of Pitso Mosimane and Percy Tau came the exit of Junior Ajayi from the club.
Nevertheless, the Nigerian cost Smouha SC well over two million euros to buy, in fact, he was worth €2.5m precisely.
4. Eric Traore – €2.65M – Pyramids FC
Eric Traore is a Burkinabe forward that has managed to climb the ladder of the Egyptian League moving from the lesser clubs to join Pyramids Fc at the top.
Eric was secured from Misr El Makkasa for €2.65m in 2019 by Pyramids Fc.
3. Marcelo Allende – €2.9M – Mamelodi Sundowns
If there is any team that would easily make this list outside North Africa, it has to be Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Brazilians secured the services of Marcelo Allende who was the skipper of Chile’s U17 team at the World Cup they hosted in 2015.
The 23-year-old is seen as the next big thing from Chile and Sundowns were able to price him away from Montevideo City in Uruguay with €2.9m.
2. Hussein El Shahat – €4.5M – Al Ahly SC
Pyramids aren’t the only big spenders in the Egyptian League, they have the traditional big name Al Ahly to contend with.
The Cairo-based side have the two highest-paid players on the continent in their team with Percy Tau and Ali Maaloul both getting US$100,000 monthly.
However, their most expensive buy is Hussein El Shahat who they bought for €4.5m from Saudi side Al Ain. Hussein grew through the ranks of Egyptian clubs Eastern Company and Misr El Makkasa before joining Al Ahly in 2019.
1. Ramadan Sobhi – €5M – Pyramids FC
Ramadan Sobhi is the highest-paid player in Africa, the Egyptian played for Al Ahly before moving to England where he played for Stoke City and Huddersfield.
He returned to Al Ahly on loan but he’s now with Pyramids who paid well around €5m to bring him to the club.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
