15 Best-Paid Players at AFCON [2025]

Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been a huge influx of footballing talent from Africa, and nothing underlines that more clearly than the list of the 15 highest-paid players heading to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The tournament gets underway on the evening of Sunday, December 21, and will run through to the final on January 18.

It is that time of year when Premier League viewers – particularly those of a Sunderland persuasion – sigh and brace themselves for the disruption caused by international duty. Several players could be missing from league action for nearly a month, including Egypt duo Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, as well as Senegal’s Idrissa Gueye.

Among those who will surprisingly remain available for club duty, however, is Antoine Semenyo, whose star-studded Ghana side failed to qualify despite winning the previous edition. Either way, whether these players relish stepping away from club football or would rather stay put, they will not be doing it on the cheap, with all earning handsome sums regardless.

10

Yassine Bounou – £158,515-a-week

Morocco

The first goalkeeper on this list – but not the last – Yassine Bounou had just lifted the Europa League trophy with Sevilla when he chose to leave the Spanish club for the Saudi Pro League. Given the wages Al-Hilal were prepared to offer, it is hard to begrudge him that decision. An outstanding goalkeeper, Bounou was named Player of the Match in the Europa League final as Sevilla defeated AS Roma, making him a major coup for Al-Hilal.

Morocco’s penalty hero at the 2022 World Cup, the shot-stopper played a key role in the Atlas Lions’ remarkable run to a fourth-place finish in Qatar. He will now be hoping he still has that edge as he looks to help his country challenge for their first Africa Cup of Nations title since 1976.

9

Edouard Mendy – £203,808-a-week

Senegal

There was a time when Edouard Mendy was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The former Chelsea man enjoyed a brief but eventful spell at Stamford Bridge, arriving as the club’s first-choice keeper before eventually falling out of favour.

As is the case with many players on this list, Saudi Pro League clubs are far from unforgiving when it comes to a fading reputation. As a result, the Senegal international continues to earn an eye-watering weekly wage in excess of £200,000 while plying his trade at Al-Ahli. To his credit, Mendy has performed steadily since arriving and looks well worth retaining the number-one shirt heading into AFCON.

8

Achraf Hakimi – £231,662-a-week

Morocco

No right-back over the last decade has come as close to winning a Ballon d’Or as Achraf Hakimi, who finished sixth after helping PSG to four trophies last season, including the French giants’ first-ever Champions League title. As influential in attack as he is in defence, he works his socks off to prove his worth week in, week out.

£231,662 weekly take-home is nothing to be sniffed at, but in a football landscape where millions and billions are thrown around aimlessly, this is a rare example of a player truly deserving such a lucrative contract.

7

Franck Kessie – £273,442-a-week

Ivory Coast

Al-Ahli’s sky-high wage bill features once again, as Franck Kessie is earning just over £270,000 on a weekly basis at the Saudi Arabian club. The Ivory Coast international made a name for himself at AC Milan but joined Barcelona in the summer of 2022. He was never the hit signing everyone expected him to be in Spain, but the gold of the Middle East has given him a second wind on and off the pitch.

He’s definitely one of the more unexpected players on this list, but with no PSR or FFP in Saudi Arabia, his enormous salary is little more than a pinprick in the pockets of the Public Investment Fund owners – the richest in world football, who also hold a stake in Newcastle.

6

Omar Marmoush – £295,000-a-week

Egypt

If Erling Haaland isn’t at the races, Manchester City have tended to struggle with their lack of firepower – hence the recent addition of former Eintracht Frankfurt talisman Omar Marmoush who, upon putting pen to paper at the turn of 2025, is earning £295,000 on a weekly basis.

Unselfish in his play but also a natural-born finisher with great instincts – as evidenced by his 2024/25 tally of 25 goal contributions in 17 Bundesliga appearances – the Egyptian is still, rather unsurprisingly, not the highest-earning player that The Pharaohs boast ahead of attempting to win a record eighth AFCON title.

5

Victor Osimhen – £318,450-a-week

Nigeria

Despite his heroics for Napoli, and the fact he remains one of the best strikers in the world, Victor Osimhen fell out with the club and settled for temporary accommodation over at Galatasaray – a move which was a resounding success.

He’s now made the move permanent and should continue running roughshod in Turkey after scoring six goals in 12 league games this season so far, and he’ll earn a very pretty penny while doing so. He earns nearly £2,000 every hour on his weekly pay packet of £318,450, and he will be hoping to spearhead Nigeria’s attack while wearing one of the best kits in international football.

4

Mohamed Salah – £400,000-a-week

Egypt

Liverpool’s Egyptian King, Mohamed Salah, is so adored in his home country that he once received the most votes in a political election he was never even standing in. Over the years, he has played like royalty and earned like it too, with his current wages standing at £400,000 a week.

That figure comes on the back of last season, when the Premier League Player of the Season broke the record for the most goal involvements in a single campaign in the competition’s history and was rewarded with a new two-year contract extension after lifting his second league title in the past five years at Anfield.

3

Kalidou Koulibaly – £550,047-a-week

Senegal

With Iliman Ndiaye, Idrissa Gueye, Sadio Mane, Ismaïla Sarr and Nicolas Jackson among the star names in Senegal’s squad for this year’s AFCON, the Teranga Lions will surely fancy their chances of going all the way. That attacking firepower has to count for something – but if it doesn’t, they can at least feel fortunate to have Kalidou Koulibaly sweeping up at the back.

An experienced and physically imposing centre-back, it is surprising just how quickly the 34-year-old can still move after swapping Europe for Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal in 2023. Surely taking home over half-a-million pounds every week weighs him down even just a little?

2

Sadio Mane – £634,060-a-week

Senegal

If football ever made the right person rich, it’s Sadio Mane, who, despite earning £634,060 every seven days, spends most of it on charitable causes, and has contributed significantly to helping transform his humble childhood village into a boomtown courtesy of his eye-watering salary.

A Champions League and Premier League winner with Liverpool, the left-winger now enjoys the thrill of playing up top with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, where it feels like only a matter of time before he adds to his trophy cabinet.

1

Riyad Mahrez – £827,448-a-week

Algeria

The highest-paid African footballer in the world. It’s hard to imagine anyone predicting that would be the case when Riyad Mahrez first signed for Leicester City back in 2014. The forward swiftly emerged as one of the best players in the world since then, though, winning the Premier League with the Foxes and becoming a megastar in the process.

He then went on to join Manchester City and was a focal point of Pep Guardiola’s dominance there for several years. Now, at 34 years old, he’s earning more money than he ever has in his life. Earning close to £1 million a week – 827,448, to be precise – which is more than double the amount Salah is on.

All statistics courtesy of Capology – correct as of 21/12/2025)