African Stars Transforming Premier League's Wage Structure
African footballers are no longer just lighting up the Premier League. They are sitting on some of its heaviest pay packets.
From Manchester to Newcastle and north London, leading players from across the continent now occupy key roles at England’s biggest clubs, with their wages reflecting that status. Reported salary estimates published on Wednesday by MSN, Microsoft’s digital news and content platform, underline just how far African talent has climbed in the financial hierarchy of the English game.
Marmoush sets the pace at the top
At the very summit sits Omar Marmoush. The Egyptian forward, now at Manchester City, is reported to earn a staggering £295,000 per week – comfortably the highest wage for an African player in the Premier League.
City moved for Marmoush in January 2025 after his eye-catching spell with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga. The jump in salary matches the leap in profile. His reported weekly wage is almost double that of the cluster of African stars on £150,000, placing him not just among the continent’s elite in England, but among the division’s best-paid players, full stop.
Big money in Manchester and north London
Behind Marmoush, a trio of attackers sit on the next tier at £150,000 per week – and they are spread across two of the league’s traditional power bases.
Bryan Mbeumo, the Cameroon international, has turned his move from Brentford into a lucrative Old Trafford deal. The Manchester United forward is reported to be on £150,000 a week, a figure that reflects his rise into one of Cameroon’s leading attacking names in the Premier League.
Across the city, Antoine Semenyo has hit a similar level. The Ghanaian forward’s rapid development in English football has driven his value sharply upwards, ending in a big move to Manchester City and a reported £150,000 per week. His trajectory mirrors the modern Premier League story: perform, adapt, and the rewards follow quickly.
North London has its own Ghanaian standard-bearer. Mohammed Kudus, now at Tottenham Hotspur, is also understood to be earning £150,000 a week. Having made his name at West Ham United, the attacking midfielder has grown into one of Africa’s most prominent figures in the division, his salary now aligned with that influence.
Wissa, Mazraoui and the defensive earners
Just behind that top bracket is Yoane Wissa. The DR Congo international, now with Newcastle United, is reportedly on around £140,000 per week. A consistent attacking presence in the league, Wissa has turned reliability and end product into a contract that places him firmly among Africa’s highest-paid players in England.
At Manchester United, Noussair Mazraoui represents the defensive side of this financial rise. The Moroccan full-back is reported to earn £135,000 per week, a figure that puts him among the best-paid African defenders in the Premier League and underlines how top clubs now value African talent in every line of the pitch, not just in the final third.
Young wings and rising profiles
The next rung includes two younger names whose wages speak to both current impact and future expectation.
Amad Diallo, the Ivorian winger at Manchester United, is estimated to be on £120,000 per week. For a player still building his senior résumé, that number signals serious faith from the club and cements his place among the better-paid African players at Old Trafford.
Matching him at £120,000 per week is Rayan Aït-Nouri at Manchester City. The Algerian full-back’s move to the Etihad has not only strengthened Pep Guardiola’s options out wide in defence, it has also boosted African representation at one of England’s dominant forces. His salary reflects his status as a key part of that rotation.
Baleba and Iwobi: the solid middle class
Further down the scale, but still firmly in the Premier League’s financial comfort zone, sit Carlos Baleba and Alex Iwobi.
Baleba, the Cameroon midfielder, has just completed his move to Manchester United from Brighton & Hove Albion. The 22-year-old, who arrived in England from Lille in 2023, is reportedly set to earn around £90,000 per week at Old Trafford. That figure leaves him below several of the established African stars, yet it still places him among the better-paid young African players in the league – a sign of how highly United rate his potential.
At Fulham, Alex Iwobi continues to carry Nigeria’s flag in the top flight. His estimated £80,000-per-week salary equates to roughly £4.16 million per year, excluding bonuses. Since joining from Everton in September 2023, Iwobi has remained one of Nigeria’s most prominent Premier League figures, his wage packet a reflection of his experience and importance in Marco Silva’s squad.
A continent’s influence, counted in pounds
From Egypt to Nigeria, Ghana to Algeria, the spread of names and clubs on this list tells its own story. African players are no longer outsiders breaking through at the edges of English football; they are central pieces in title chases, European pushes and rebuilds at some of the country’s most powerful institutions.
The numbers only confirm what the performances have been saying for years: African footballers are not just shaping the Premier League on the pitch. They are reshaping its wage structure too.
