SINCE THE 1990’s, AFRICAN COUNTRIES
AND FOOTBALLERS HAVE FEATURED FAR MORE AT WORLD FOOTBALL’S TOP TABLE.
Although
no African team is yet to reach further than the quarter finals at the World
Cup,
their individual footballers have been recognised for their talents.
In
1995 George Weah became the only African player to ever win FIFA World Player
of the Year, while other players such as Roger Milla and Jay-Jay Okocha dazzled
at some of Europe’s elite clubs.
The
aforementioned players paved the way for today’s African footballers to make
their mark on world football and for some to be considered amongst the greatest
of their generation.
Such
talent has invariably seen them be well rewarded financially and many of
Africa’s modern day greatest feature on this list of Africa’s richest
current footballers.
Below
is the Top 10 Africa’s Richest Players as of 2014:
10.
VEIJEANY CHRISTOPHER SAMBA – $8 Million
Veijeany Christopher Samba (born 28 March
1984), known as Christopher Samba, is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Dynamo Moscow
in the Russian Premier League. Born in France, he plays for the Congo national
team. The Congolese defender’s wealth owes greatly to the contract he
signed at Anzhi Makhachkala where he was paid $160,000 per week. Before then he
made his name as the no nonsense captain of Blackburn Rovers. Between two
spells at Anzhi he spent six months at Queens Park Rangers, where he again
earned around $160,000 a week. He is currently at Dynamo Moscow after being
sold in a fire sale of players by Anzhi.
9.
SEYDOU KEITA – $10 Million
Seydou Keita (born 16 January
1980) is a Malian professional footballer who plays for Italian club A.S. Roma.
A versatile midfielder, he can operate as both a central or defensive
midfielder, and played most notably with Lens (five seasons) and Barcelona
(four), winning 14 titles with the latter. Keita represented Malian national
team since the age of 20, appearing with it at seven Africa Cup of Nations
tournaments, and also holds a French passport. The Malian midfielder has
recently returned to Spain with Valencia after a year in the Chinese Super
League. Keita earned a reported $16million before tax in his year with Chinese
Super League club Dalian Aerbin FC. Before that move he had been an important
member of the Barcelona squad for four years having impressed at Sevilla and in
the French Ligue 1.
8.
FRÉDÉRIC OUMAR KANOUTÉ – $12 Million
Frédéric Oumar Kanouté (born 2 September
1977) is a retired Malian professional footballer who played for several
top-tier clubs within UEFA, enjoying his greatest success with La Liga side
Sevilla FC. Kanouté was named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year, the
first player born outside Africa to win the award as well as consecutive UEFA
Cups. The legendary Malian striker began his career in France with Lyon before
moving to England with West Ham in 2001. He is currently at Beijing Guoan in
the Chinese Super League. In 2007 he spent a reported $700,000 buying his local
mosque in Seville.
7.
JOHN MIKEL OBI – $15 Million
6.
KOLO TOURE – $18 Million
Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981)
is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays for English club Liverpool as a
defender. Born in Bouaké,Touré joined Premier League team Arsenal from ASEC
Mimosas on a long-term contract for a fee of £150,000 on 14 February 2002 after
a short trial. His status as a full international meant Touré was able to
secure a British work permit. Toure has played for three of England’s biggest
clubs in the form of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. He also has a
lucrative sponsorship deal with Adidas. He has become an integral player for
the Côte d’Ivoire national team and is one half of football’s highest paid
siblings.
5.
MICHEAL ESSIEN – $25 Million
Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December
1982) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Panathinaikos and the Ghana
national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box
midfielder for his ability to exert energy in supporting offensive and
defensive play and for his tough tackling style which has earned him the
nickname “The Bison”. Essien can also play as a defender, both on the right of
defence and in the centre. Essien was once Africa’s most expensive footballer
of all-time after his £24.4million move from Lyon to Chelsea. He has received
multiple nominations for World Player of the Year as well as African Player of
the Year in recognition of his status as one of Africa’s best players ever.
After 8 years at Chelsea, Essien signed for AC Milan in January 2014 to receive
more first-team football.
4. EMMANUEL
ADEBAYOR – $27 Million
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (born 26
February 1984), known as Emmanuel Adebayor, is a Togolese footballer who
plays as a forward for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Togo
national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco, Arsenal, Real
Madrid and Manchester City. He was voted African Footballer of the Year for
2008. Togo’s all-time top scorer has benefited from lucrative contracts at some
of England’s richest clubs. Whilst at Manchester City the striker earned a
reported $268,000 a week. While Adebayor has developed a reputation for falling
out with managers, the player is also known for his enormous charity work. He has
set up projects in his native Togo and across Africa, as well as founding the
SEA Foundation which implements welfare projects across the continent.
3.
YAYA TOURE – $65 Million
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré (born 13 May
1983), known as Yaya Touré, is an Ivorian professional footballer who
plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester City and the Ivory Coast
national team. Toure has received African Player of the Year three consecutive
times since 2011 and is recognised as one of the Côte d’Ivoire’s ‘Golden
Generation’. He was an important player in the Barcelona team that won the
Champions League in 2009 and is currently the engine room of Manchester City’s
team. He earns a reported $15million a year to reinforce his status as one of
the world’s best.
2.
DIDIER DROGBA – $70 Million
Didier Yves Drogba
Tébily (born 11 March 1978), known as Didier Drogba, is an Ivorian
professional footballer who plays for English club Chelsea as a striker, and is
the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He
is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than
any other foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goal scorer
of all time. Didier Drogba’s enormous fortune is impressive, considering the
Ivorian didn’t earn a big move until his 2004 transfer to Chelsea at the age of
26. Since then however the Chelsea legend has signed a number of lucrative
contracts. At the height of his powers at Chelsea he was paid $170,000 a week,
a figure dwarfed however by the staggering $325,000 he earned in his short
spell at Shanghai Shenhua. He earns $5.2million a year at Galatasaray, however
with a number of lucrative sponsorship deals his actual earnings a year are far
more.
1.
SAMUEL ETO’O – $90 Million
Samuel
Eto’o Fils (born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays as a
striker for Sampdoria and formerly for the Cameroon national team. He is the
most decorated African player of all time having won the African Player of the
Year award a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. He was third in
the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2005. It’s no surprise that the man
to have won a record four African Player of the Year trophies tops the list for
the continent’s richest player. Eto’o was in fact once the highest paid player
in the world during his spell with Anzhi Makhachkala bringing in $25millon a
year. Goal.com put his net worth at $118 million (£70m), but given his
extravagant lifestyle and his donations to several charity organizations we put
the net worth at $90 million.The Cameroonian striker has played for some of
Europe’s biggest clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea
and Everton (his current club). His goal-scoring prowess has seen him not only
rewarded with mega wages but huge sponsorship deals, however the player also
gives a lot of money to charity, much like Didier Drogba, and has set up the
Samuel Eto’o Foundation in his home country.
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