Saudi onset shakes up the paid ranks among African players
08/26/2023 01:51 AM
There is a new order as the new season begins in 2022/23. The money is now in Asia as a rebranding Saudi top flight has sent empowered clubs shopping at the best clubs in Europe. There might be no blockbuster TV deal as yet, but the fact is that the Saudi league and generally Saudi Arabia’s football can no longer be ignored. Saudi Arabia’s win over eventual world champions Brazil in the 2022 World Cup was just the start of things; today their top league is home to some of the best talents in the world, and most aren’t even going there to retire – they are still at their prime. Two Ballon d’Or winners, Africa’s Player of the Year, a World Cup winner are all now calling the Saudi league home. Unlike the earlier moves to the Chinese leagues the Saudi leagues is not going for players way past their best. Such moves have shaken the money leagues and now we have new top earners.
Shaping league
How these big moves are going to shape the league remains to be seen but one thing is for sure that even the top UK bookmakers cannot afford to ignore the league. Cheekypunter lists some of the top bookies, detailing the top offers available. There’s a lot that punters look out for when it comes to betting; including bet builders, bonuses, free bets, early payout offers and more. All these are provided on the site and are designed to make the punter’s experience great. Here you can discover the list of UK online betting sites for football from Cheekypunter but let’s look at how this league has shaped the money ranks. Before this season, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool was the highest paid African player. With his £350,000 a week pay, the Egyptian is now a distant fourth. Sadio Mane, who will now play for Al Nasr after a poor first season at Bayern Munich, is officially the highest earning African footballer. The Senegal skipper signed up for a £661,000 a week deal at the club, which Cristiano Ronaldo also plays for. Mane’s earnings are a cool £180,000 more than the second highest earning African player, Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian arrived in Saudi to join Al Ahli after winning a treble with Manchester City and he will be taking home a weekly wage of £481,000.
Senegal dominance
Another Senegalese international follows closely - Kalidou Coulibaly, a member of the AFCON winning Senegal team of 2022. The burly defender failed to settle well at Chelsea following his move from Napoli and after just a season with the west London side, he was offloaded to Al Hilal in a big-money move. He will henceforth attract a wage of £412,000 per week, making him the third highest earning African player. This rich list is highly concentrated by Senegalese players, and after Salah, the fifth highest earner is Edouard Mendy, the Senegalese goalkeeper. An AFCON winner and UEFA Champions League winner, Mendy was always going to attract a huge package after his move from Chelsea. He moved to Al Ahli after a tough season in England and will earn £227,000 a week. Arsenal’s Thomas Partey would have been higher in this list but after rumors of a move to Saudi, nothing materialized. He thus stays on as the sixth highest earning African player, pocketing £200,000 per week at the north London side.
