Pele memorably said an African nation would win the World Cup before the year 2000.
We’re still waiting for that one to come true, but the great Brazilian’s wider point about the continent producing better players did come to fruition.
Africa has consistently produced some of the greatest footballers to play the game since the turn of the millennium. Some have moved for huge transfer fees, but who is the most expensive?
Who is the most expensive African player of all time?
Nicolas Pepe is currently the most expensive African player in history – having held the record since 2019.
That is down to his £72million transfer to Arsenal from Lille. Sadly for the Gunners, Pepe didn’t exactly prove a success and left the Emirates Stadium on a free transfer last year. At international level, Pepe has represented Ivory Coast on 47 occasions, helping them win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023.
Who held the all time record transfer fee for an African player before Pepe?
Prior to Pepe’s move for huge money, it was a north African holding the title of the continent’s most expensive footballer.
A year before Pepe moved to Arsenal, Riyad Mahrez signed for Manchester City, who paid Leicester City £60million for his services.
City broke their club record to sign Mahrez, who later moved to Al-Ahli for £30million.
Another Premier League transfer had previously held the record fee, with Gabon star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang moving to Arsenal for £56million six months earlier in January 2018.
| Rank | Price | Player | From | To |
| 1 | £72m | Nicholas Pepe | Lille | Arsenal |
| 2 | £60m | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City | Manchester City |
| 3 | £58m | Achraf Hakimi | Inter Milan | PSG |
| 4 | £56m | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | Arsenal |
| 5 | £49m | Naby Keita | RB Leipzig | Liverpool |
| 6 | £41m | Victor Osimhen | Lille | Napoli |
| 7 | £40m | Mo Salah | Fiorentina | Liverpool |
| 8 | £38m | Sadio Mane | Southampton | Liverpool |
| 9 | £34m | Hakim Ziyech | Ajax | Chelsea |
| 10 | £33.5m | Cedric Bakambu | Villarreal | Beijing Guoan |
