With the wealthy Saudi Pro League awash with some of Africa's brightest stars, we take a look at which greats from the continent are getting paid the most in the oil-rich kingdom.
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During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo shocked the world when news emerged that the recently departed Manchester United star would call time on his career in European club football to ply his trade in the SPL.
He would effectively open the floodgates for a plethora of top talents to join him in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia's top division now home to a lot of superstar football talent.
The beginning of the 2023/24 season was the first off-season whereby the league's top clubs spent big in a bid to lure the likes of Karim Benzema, Neymar and N'Golo Kante to the country.
Along with these players were also many top African stars who ditched Europe for the riches of the Saudi Arabia top flight, and it is safe to say that many of them are being paid handsomely.
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At the top of the list of the highest earners from the world's second-largest continent is Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez.
The 33-year-old could not have ended his Manchester City career on a better note as the 2022/23 season saw him play a pivotal role in the club's historic treble-winning campaign. Having scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists that season, he has taken his prolific form to the SPL, having already amassed 10 goals and 12 assists since arriving at Al Ahli. Only Ronaldo, Benzema and Neymar make more than his €1 003 846 (R20.5 million) gross in weekly wages, according to Capology.
Here are the 10 highest-paid players from Africa, and how much they make in gross earnings per week playing in the Saudi Pro League, as per Capology:
While the French-born attacker's individual performances have been exemplary, his team has struggled to keep pace with Al Nassr, who are in second place. The Knights of Najd are currently 16 points ahead of Al Ahli and that has a lot to do with Sadio Mane.
The Senegalese's unceremonious exit from Bayern Munich paved the way for him to make a staggering €769 231 (R15.7 million) gross a week in Riyadh, making him the second-highest earner from Africa. While he is behind Mahrez as far as wages are concerned, the Bambaly native is more prolific than the north African has been as he has 17 goals and nine assists to his name across all competitions.
To round off the podium places of the most lucrative earners from Africa in the SPL is an international teammate of Mane's, Kalidou Koulibaly. Like the forward, the central defender's 2022/23 season paled in comparison to what Mahrez achieved as he was part of the Chelsea side that finished in their lowest Premier League position in 29 years when they ended the campaign in 12th. Keen to get a fresh start, the captain of the Lions of Teranga left the west London Blues for the Blue Wave of Riyadh, and his debut campaign could not have gone any better.
Al Hilal are currently unbeaten in the league as they lead Al Nassr by nine points, are in the semi-finals of both the AFC Champions League and the Kings Cup, and already have silverware to their name this campaign, having won the Saudi Super Cup.
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The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winner is paid a massive €667 308 (R13.6 million) in gross earnings every week as he looks to end his debut season in Saudi Arabia with a stacked trophy cabinet.
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