Meet the top earners at the 2025 AFCON

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations gets underway today, bringing together elite talent from across the continent, including some of the best-paid footballers in the global game.

Morocco enter the tournament as bookmakers’ favourites, with traditional heavyweights Egypt, Senegal, and Nigeria also strongly fancied. Beyond team expectations, the competition will showcase several African stars whose club earnings place them among the world’s top wage earners.

Based on salary figures published by Capology, here are the seven highest-paid African players set to feature at AFCON 2025.

Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez tops the list by a wide margin. The former Manchester City winger earns about £886,500 per week at Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, where he signed a four-year deal after leaving England in 2023. His current salary places him well ahead of every other African footballer, earning more than twice Mohamed Salah’s weekly pay.

Senegal forward Sadio Mané follows in second place with an estimated £679,400 per week at Al-Nassr. Like Mahrez, Mané made the move to Saudi Arabia in 2023. Although his earnings are significantly lower than Cristiano Ronaldo’s at the same club, his contract still ranks among the most lucrative in African football and is due to expire at the end of the season.

Another Senegalese star, Kalidou Koulibaly, sits third. The experienced defender earns around £589,300 per week at Al-Hilal, making him not only the third-highest-paid African player but also the highest-paid defender in world football. The 34-year-old was part of Senegal’s AFCON-winning squad in 2021.

Egypt captain Mohamed Salah is fourth on the list, earning approximately £400,000 per week at Liverpool. Despite persistent transfer speculation linking him to Saudi clubs, Salah remains under contract at Anfield until 2027. He will be eager to finally lift the AFCON trophy after losing finals in 2017 and 2021.

Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen ranks fifth with weekly earnings of about £318,450. After a prolific loan spell at Galatasaray, where he scored 37 goals, the Turkish club secured him permanently, tying him down until 2029.

Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi comes in sixth, earning roughly £231,600 per week at Paris Saint-Germain. He is one of PSG’s top earners and is expected to play a central role in Morocco’s title push.

Completing the list is Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who earns around £203,800 per week at Al-Ahli. He is the highest-paid African goalkeeper at the tournament, edging out Morocco’s Yassine Bounou.