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NEW
AFCON 2025
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From Victor Osimhen to Sebastien Haller, these are the top 20 most expensive African footballers.
African players have increasingly commanded huge fees in the global transfer market, from established stars moving to elite European clubs to recent blockbuster deals that rewrote continental records.
Pulse Sports collated a list of the 20 biggest transfer fees involving players who represent African national teams:
1. Nicolas Pépé — Lille → Arsenal: €80 million
Nicolas Pépé’s move from Lille to Arsenal in August 2019 set the benchmark for African transfers for several years. Arsenal paid a club-record fee reported at around €80m (approximately £72m at the time), making Pépé the most expensive player from the African continent when the deal was completed.
The move arrived after a thrilling 2018–19 season in Ligue 1 in which Pépé scored freely and was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. Expectations were sky-high at Arsenal, but Pépé’s time in north London proved inconsistent, and he was untimately released from his contract. He is currently at Villarreal.
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2. Bryan Mbeumo — Brentford → Manchester United: €75m with add-ons taking it to €80 million
In summer 2025, Manchester United completed the signing of Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo for an initial fee reported around £65m, rising with add-ons to figures reported around £71m–£75m in various outlets, placing Mbeumo among the most expensive African-born players.
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3. Victor Osimhen — Napoli → Galatasaray: €75 million
Victor Osimhen’s 2025 move from Napoli to Galatasaray smashed Turkish transfer records and put him among the most expensive African transfers ever. The deal, announced to be €75 million,
Osimhen arrived at Galatasaray off the back of an exceptional loan season (2024–25), and the fee reflected his status as one of Europe’s most feared strikers. The signing was both a sporting statement by Galatasaray and a marketing one, as the Nigerian is a fan favourite in Turkey.
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4. Omar Marmoush — Eintracht Frankfurt → Manchester City: €70,000,000 + up to €5,000,000 add-ons
Manchester City’s January 2025 signing of Omar Marmoush was widely reported with a guaranteed package of €70m and around €5m in potential add-ons, according to the Guardian.
5. Victor Osimhen — Lille → Napoli: €70m
When Napoli signed Victor Osimhen in the summer of 2020, they announced a club-record deal. Multiple outlets reported the base fee as €70m, with performance add-ons that could push the package toward €80m +1.
6. Riyad Mahrez — Leicester City → Manchester City: €67–68 million
Riyad Mahrez’s move from Leicester to Manchester City in July 2018 cost City about £60m, at the time, one of the biggest fees paid for a player from Africa. Mahrez’s technical skill and Premier League-proven output made him a coveted signing for Pep Guardiola’s side.
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7. Achraf Hakimi — Inter Milan → Paris Saint-Germain: €60 million+ incl. add-ons
Morocco international Achraf Hakimi’s move to PSG (summer 2021) involved a significant fee in the region of €60 million (reports vary slightly because of structure and add-ons).
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Before PSG, Hakimi had built a strong reputation at Borussia Dortmund and Inter. His transfer fee placed him among the most expensive African-origin defenders/wing-backs historically.
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8. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang — Borussia Dortmund → Arsenal: €63 million
Arsenal paid around £56m to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, a fee that made the Gabon striker one of the most expensive African transfers. Aubameyang arrived with an excellent goalscoring record in the Bundesliga.
At Arsenal, Aubameyang quickly made an impact, winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2018–19 (shared) and becoming the club captain
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9. Mohammed Kudus — West Ham → Tottenham Hotspur: €63 million
Tottenham agreed a fee of around £55m to sign Mohammed Kudus from West Ham in July 2025, according to Sky Sports. Kudus is a highly rated attacking midfielder/forward with excellent technical qualities and international experience for Ghana.
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10. Naby Keïta — RB Leipzig → Liverpool: €60 million
Liverpool’s deal for Guinean midfielder Naby Keïta was widely reported to finish around £52.75m once conditional clauses were settled (2018). Keïta had impressed in the Bundesliga and arrived at Anfield with a strong pedigree.
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Keïta’s time at Liverpool was disrupted by injuries and inconsistency, meaning the transfer didn’t deliver sustained on-field value equivalent to the fee, but the signing nonetheless marked one of the largest investments in a West African midfielder at the time.
11. Thomas Partey — Atlético Madrid → Arsenal: €50 million
Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey moved from Atlético Madrid to Arsenal in 2020 after the Gunners triggered his €50 million release clause.
Partey arrived as a defensive midfielder with excellent physical and tactical attributes, exactly what Arsenal sought to stabilise the midfield.
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Injuries and adaptation meant Partey’s influence fluctuated, but the fee put him among the most expensive African midfield signings and underscored Arsenal’s push to recruit top-level experience.
12. Sébastien Haller — Eintracht Frankfurt → West Ham United: €50 million
Ivory Coast-born Sébastien Haller’s transfer to West Ham in 2019 was reported at around £45 million, one of the largest fees for an African striker at the time. Haller had been prolific in the Bundesliga before making the move to London.
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Although his initial spell at West Ham was difficult, Haller later re-emerged strongly in continental competition and continued his upward scoring trajectory with later clubs, validating why big clubs paid significant fees for his profile.
13. Mohamed Salah — Roma → Liverpool: €42 million
Mohamed Salah’s 2017 transfer from AS Roma to Liverpool (fee widely reported in the mid-£30m range, often quoted as £34.3m / ~€42m) proved to be one of the best-value big-money signings in modern football, given his subsequent production.
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Salah immediately became Liverpool’s talisman, winning the Premier League Golden Boot and helping the club capture both the UEFA Champions League and the Premier League during his tenure. Sowhile the fee ranked him among pricier African transfers at the time, his contributions massively out-sized the cost on the pitch.
14. Sadio Mané — Southampton → Liverpool: €42 million
Sadio Mané’s move to Liverpool in 2016 cost an initial fee of around £34m (rising with add-ons) and was a transformational signing for Jurgen Klopp’s side. Mané’s pace, work rate and goalscoring were vital to Liverpool’s domestic and European success during his stay.
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Mané won the Premier League and Champions League with Liverpool and later joined Bayern Munich (then Al-Nassr), but his transfer remains a landmark for African players moving to elite Premier League clubs.
15. Hakim Ziyech — Ajax → Chelsea — €40m
Morocco international Hakim Ziyech moved from Ajax to Chelsea (2019) for a fee commonly reported around €40m. Ziyech’s creative playmaking and set-piece quality made him a coveted signing after a standout Champions League campaign with Ajax.
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While Ziyech had moments of quality at Chelsea, form and injuries affected his consistency. The fee still placed him among the most expensive African-origin attacking midfielders/wingers of that window.
16. Kalidou Koulibaly — Napoli → Chelsea: €40m
Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly’s transfer from Napoli to Chelsea (summer 2022) was widely reported with figures in the mid-€30m/£30–40m range (some outlets report the package as close to €40m including add-ons). Koulibaly was one of Europe’s most highly rated centre-backs before the move.
Koulibaly’s fee reflects the premium for established central defenders with international and Serie A pedigree, and he later moved on to Saudi Pro League clubs in subsequent windows.
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17. Cédric Bakambu — Villarreal → Beijing Sinobo Guoan: €40m
Cédric Bakambu’s move from Villarreal to Beijing Sinobo Guoan in early 2018 reportedly involved a fee in the region of €40m, one of the largest moves for an African player outside Europe and a notable example of how the Chinese market paid high fees for top talent at that time.
Bakambu had been an important goalscorer for Villarreal, and the transfer both rewarded the player financially and highlighted how non-European leagues could command big spending for proven forwards.
18. Achraf Hakimi — Real Madrid → Inter: €40 million
Inter agreed to a deal with Real Madrid, reportedly worth €40 million upfront with around €5 million in potential add-ons in the summer of 2022. The deal came after Hakimi's rapid development at Dortmund, where he spent two seasons on loan. The fee placed Hakimi among the most expensive African-origin defenders at that time.
19. Eric Bailly — Villarreal → Manchester United: €38 million (2016)
In June 2016, José Mourinho made Ivorian centre-back Eric Bailly his first signing as Manchester United manager, paying €38 million to Villarreal. At the time, it was the highest fee ever paid for an African defender, a statement of intent by United as they sought to rebuild their back line.
Bailly had impressed during his short but outstanding spell at Villarreal, where he had caught the eyes of multiple Premier League clubs. Although injuries and inconsistency prevented him from fully realising his potential at Old Trafford, the fee remains one of the biggest ever paid for an African player, especially for a defender.
20. Islam Slimani — Sporting CP → Leicester City: €35,000,000 (base) + up to €5,000,000 add-ons
Islam Slimani’s 2016 move to Leicester City was reported as a package worth around €35m when potential add-ons were included.
The transfer made Slimani one of the most expensive Algerian imports in nominal terms; his subsequent first season had mixed returns and later loans, but the fee remains part of the mid-€30m wave of African transfers in that era.