Gone are the days where the transfer market is where you can easily sign top-notch footballers for a relatively decent amount of money, but not anymore as the story of the transfer market has changed dramatically, now the market is for the rich and those who are ready to break the bank to secure the service of footballers.
As such, Africa has contributed immensely to European football through the talent and qualities of its players, as Africans in the game have also been placed among the most valuable and expensive African footballers in the world when they switched teams.
In this piece, Cheapgoals take a look at the most expensive African footballers in history.
Nicolas Pepe – Lille/Arsenal (£70m)
Nicolas is a highly-rated and talented winger who was touted by Europe elite clubs, the Ivorian star, showed how brilliant he was with Lille LOSC before moving down to Arsenal, the 24-year-old, who is left-footed but prefers to play on the right side of a front three, scored 22 goals in the French league before sealing a move to the Emirates.
Pepe completed his move to Arsenal for a club-record fee of €80m plus add-ons, signing from Lille on a five-year contract a deal that outstrips the €67.8m of Mahrez to City and that of Aubameyang to Arsenal for £56m to be the most expensive African footballers in history.
Cedric Bakambu – Villareal/ Beijing Guoan £65.4m ($83m)
DR Congo forward secured a move Chinese Super League in July 2018 after making a huge impact with Spanish outfit Villarreal.
The Congolese superstar was born in France where he made a name with Sochaux. He had a one-year spell with Bursaspor before joining Villarreal, where he scored in 32 goals in 75 appearances, catching the eye of the Chinese moneybags. He made his international debut in 2015 and was on the side that, in spite of his goal, lost on penalties to Madagascar in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations round 16.
On 28 February 2018, the final day of the Chinese transfer window, Bakambu’s protracted transfer from Villarreal to Beijing Sinobo Guoan was finally confirmed with the club paying his €40million (£35.4m) release clause, but Beijing did not announce the Congolese forward’s signing amid confusion over whether they had to pay a 100 percent levy on the transfer
Riyad Mahrez – Leicester City/Manchester City (£59m)
Manchester City walked away from his transfer after being put off by Leicester City due to the valuation of the Algerian, however, he finally made a move down to Etihad following their EPL triumphant to become the Cityzen’s first recruit when he joined on a five-year deal.
Mahrez’s deal represents a huge profit in excess of £59m for Leicester, who signed him from Le Havre for £400,000 in 2014, and he went on to achieved success for the Foxes by winning the most surprising Premier League title under Ranieri at the 2015-16 season, he won the PFA Players Player Award scoring over 48 goals in 179 appearances for Leicester.
His move to City makes him the number two most expensive African player in our list with a sum of €67.8million
Pierre Aubameyang – Dortmund/Arsenal (£55m)
It was a week of negotiations and speculation for the Gunners until they finally snapped up their top target for a total of £60m, Arsenal completed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for £55 million-plus £5m in further add-ons.
The Gabonese forward has been a subject of transfer speculation between the Gunners and other club sides in Europe until he opted for Arsenal from Dortmund following his 31 league goals.
Aubameyang did great things for Borussia Dortmund during his stint with them, scored many important goals and he is part of the team that brought the DFB-Pokal to Dortmund in 2017.
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Naby Keita – RB Leipzig/Liverpool (£52.75m)
Keita cost Liverpool £52.75m after RB Leipzig finished sixth in the Bundesliga following Liverpool’s agreement to bring him to Anfield at the end of this season during the 2017 summer transfer window, but his price was dependent on Leipzig’s final league position.
Should Leipzig had dropped into seventh, or lower in the Bundesliga, they would have seen Keita’s price reduced further to £48m.
But in 2017, Liverpool did get their man in the summer after a deal had been struck by triggering his £75m release clause in addition to paying an undisclosed premium.
Mo Salah – Roma/Liverpool (£35m)
Liverpool in their quest to sign Salah eclipsed the £35m spent on Andy Carroll in January 2011 to secure the service of Mohammed Salah from AS Roma which is a record transfer fee for the club and the Egyptian forward.
The Anfield outfit completed the £36.9m signing of Salah, following his impressive performances with the Giallorossi, scoring 29 goals in 65 appearances.
Since the Egyptians joined the Kops, he has continued to show an impressive performance which is definitely a value for money that Liverpool invested on him.
Sadio Mane – Southampton/Liverpool (£34m)
The former Southampton player became Africa’s most expensive player ever after joining English club Liverpool in 2016 for a reported fee of £34 million.
In 2014, Mane signed a four-year contract with Premier League side Southampton for £11.8 million but was snapped up thereafter following his prolific season with Saints. Mane’s move to Anfield has been a fruitful relationship since he moved down from Southampton.
Eric Bailly – Villarreal/Manchester United (£30m)
The Ivorian was the first player signed from Villarreal by then manager of the team Jose Mourinho when he joined the Old Trafford outfit.
Eric Bailly joined English former champions in 2016 for a reported transfer fee of £30 million, on a four-year contract after a well-tailored performance for Villarreal.
Since the Ivorian moved down to England, injury hasn’t been fair with him till now.
Wilfried Bony – Swansea/Manchester City (£28m)
Bony’s prolific season with Swansea triggered his move to Manchester City for a record fee of 28 million pounds. Although his move to City wasn’t really a rosy spell as the Ivorian only appeared in 12 games for then-reigning Premier League champions following his move from Swansea City in January.
Bony had been prolific for the Welsh club since joining them from Vitesse in 2013, scoring 34 goals in 73 games in all competitions, but his stint with the Etihad based side was a very porous one.
Islam Slimani – Sporting CP/Leicester City (£28m)
In 2016, Leicester City set a club record in bringing in the Algerian from Lisbon, as Leicester City paid a reported transfer fee of £28 million to the Portuguese club Sporting CP.
While at Sporting, Slimani scored 48 goals in 82 games for Sporting, a brilliant performance that led to his move to the former EPL champion.
No doubt Slimani move to Leicester was a testament to how they wanted to build on what they achieved when they won the league under the tutelage of Ranieri, but unfortunately for the Algerian, the switch wasn’t really a good one for him.
Emmanuel Adebayor -Arsenal/Manchester City (£25m)
Adebayor might not possess the kind of status Thierry Henry possessed at Arsenal, but then the former Togolese captain is definitely an integral part of the Arsenal team before he signed for Manchester City.
Following his prolific season in 2008 with the Gunners in which the Togolese star scored 30 goals in all competitions and he earned a spot in the PFA Team of the Year, as he was also linked with a €38million move to AC Milan and Barcelona.
Adebayor couldn’t replicate what he did with the Gunners, and he was sold the following season to one of the megabucks team in the land Manchester City.
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Yannick Bolasie – Crystal Palace/Everton (£24.5m)
The French-born and Congolese International joined the Toffees in 2016 for a fee reported to be around £25 million. Bolasie did put pen to paper on a five-year contract after leaving Crystal Palace following an impressive season at the Selhurst Park.
Unfortunately for Bolasie, injuries didn’t favor him as he was finally shipped out of the club.
Michael Essien – Lyon/Chelsea (£24.4m)
The Ghanaian became the most expensive African footballer of all time when Jose Mourinho signed him for Chelsea from Olympique Lyonnais in the summer of 2005 following his breathtaking performance with Lyon.
Essien did finish the season as a League winner with the French side, and a player of the year, which goes some way of explaining the size of the fee Chelsea were willing to cough out for the midfield marshall.
As the Ghanaian joined the Blues, success was instantaneous for Chelsea winning the Premier League twice, FA Cup four times and Champions League, as well as being named Chelsea Player of the Year in 2007.
Didier Drogba – Marseilles/Chelsea (£24m)
Drogba’s breathtaking performance with Marseilles in the then UEFA Cup now Europa League definitely interest top club sides across Europe.
However, the Ivorian remained in France for two seasons and excelled in Ligue 1, before joining mega-rich Chelsea from Marseille rather than West Ham who was also had a keen interest to secure him.
Drogba’s first season with Chelsea wasn’t a good start, however, he did come good for the Blues in subsequent seasons as they went on to win the Champions League against Bayern Munich.
Yaya Touré – Barcelona/Manchester City (£24m)
The Ivorian international did play in a number of European leagues throughout his career, however, he first came to prominence playing in France with AS Monaco.
His performances with Monaco attracted the interest of Barcelona, who signed him from the Ligue 1 outfit for €10million in 2007.
Toure won a massive 7 trophies during his stint with the Catalan based side but eventually lost his place in the team as he was used sparingly as a makeshift defender with Puyol after Pep Guardiola took over as the manager which led to his move away from Barcelona.
Manchester City won the fight to sign Toure following his departure from Camp Nou and he ended up as an integral part of the team in winning the 2012 and 2014 Premier League.
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Samuel Eto’o – Inter Milan/Anzhi Makhachkala (£21m)
The Cameroonian deal to Anzhi as at then didn’t only make him the most expensive African footballers but saw him also became one the highest-paid player in the world.
Eto’o signed a three-year deal worth €20-million a year, following a fantastic spell with the Nerazzurri, spending two years with Inter Milan winning the Champions League in the first season.
The season before Etoo’s move to Anzhi, he had already scored 37 goals, his record haul in a season, and the former CAF award winner did enjoy two relatively productive seasons with Anzhi.
Mehdi Benatia – Roma/Bayern Munich (£21m)
Talking about African most expensive footballers, the Moroccan cost Roma €13.5 million from Udinese in the summer of 2013 from the back of impressive performance with Udinese.
After a year of mouthwatering performance for the Giallorossi in defense, Benatia was a subject of keen interest from top teams across Europe such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich.
The Bavarian did eventually won the battle, paying Roma €26million (£21m) for Benatia on a five-year deal as he ended up being a vital player for the Bundesliga outfit under the tutelage of then-manager Pep Guardiola.
Austin Okocha – Fenerbahce/Paris St-Germain (£14m)
The Super Eagles midfield maestro Austin Jay-jay Okocha was signed by Paris St-Germain for £14 million following a prolific spell at Fenerbahce in which he scored 30 goals in 62 games from midfield.
His undoubtedly great performance made him became a fan favorite in the French capital and acted as a mentor to a young Brazilian Ronaldinho who his a bundle of talent before he became a global superstar with Barcelona.
Okocha left PSG after the 2002 World Cup to sign for Premier League side Bolton Wanderers, and he went to become a legend of the club with his goals, trademarks dribbles, flairs, skills, and his wonderful free-kicks.
