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Football is by far the most popular sport in Africa and the followership for the beautiful game runs into hundreds of millions on the continent.
The state of the game on the continent might be some way off the standards set by Europe. However, some established African national teams like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Algeria have all made their mark on the global stage.
Several children dream of playing at the dizzying heights of elite football and subsequently hone their craft playing in mini-street football tournaments. The select few who have been able to make it to the professional level have gone on to further fly the African flag on the biggest stages.
Africa has produced some of the greatest players in the history of the game. These include the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, George Weah, Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure.
These players all proved their world-class abilities at one point or the other in their careers and are highly regarded in their respective nations.
Football has grown into a multi-billion industry and a significant sum is spent on strengthening the squads of the biggest clubs. The last decade has seen exponential growth in the amounts paid to sign players and it is not uncommon to see untested teenagers bought for eight-figure sums.
African players have not been left out of the big-money transfer frenzy in recent years. Several African players have been bought for hefty sums - sometimes club-record fees to varying degrees of success. While some have repaid every penny spent and some more, others have failed to perform at the levels expected.
Here is a rundown of the five most expensive African players in football history.
#5 Naby Keita - £52.75m (RB Leipzig to Liverpool) - 2018
Naby Keita shone brightly at RB Leipzig, which led to interest in his services across Europe.
The Guinea international was an immense presence in the middle of the park for the Bundesliga side. Keita's performances helped Leipzig establish themselves among the best clubs in the German top-flight as well as across Europe.
Liverpool were extremely keen to sign the African playmaker, with several rumors linking the two parties. The club finally agreed to his transfer for the sum of £52.75m in 2017, a year before he officially made the move to Merseyside.
Keita was expected to help bolster Jurgen Klopp's team and become the missing link in midfield. However, injuries have been unkind to the 26-year-old. Multiple different long and short-term injuries have limited the African to just 33 Premier League starts in three seasons.
Also See: Six greatest players who never received an international cap
#4 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - £56m (Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal) - 2017
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was one of the standout players in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. His highest point in the German top-flight came when he outscored Robert Lewandowski to finish as the league's top scorer in the 2016-17 season.
He then tried to force a move away from Signal Iduna Park the next summer to try his luck elsewhere in Europe. But despite some top clubs like Manchester United and Chelsea needing strikers, they surprisingly overlooked the Gabon hitman.
Arsenal then made a move for him during the winter transfer window, paying BVB the sum of £56m. This was a club-record fee to price the former AC Milan man away from Germany.
Aubameyang has been one of the better players in what has been a hollow period for Arsenal. He has scored a respectable 85 goals from 148 matches and won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first full season with the club.
The 32-year-old has also been named club captain, although he had an underwhelming campaign during the 2020-21 season.
Also See: Seven European clubs to win a treble
#3 Riyad Mahrez - £60m (Leicester City to Manchester City) - 2018
Riyad Mahrez was part of the triumvirate, alongside Jamie Vardy and N'Golo Kante, that helped Leicester City extraordinarily win the Premier League title in 2016.
The Algeria international was tipped for a move away from the East Midlands after a stellar 2015-16 campaign. He even tried to force his way away from the club during multiple transfer windows.
Mahrez ultimately got his wish when he completed a move to Manchester City for the sum of £60m, a then club-record fee, in the summer of 2018. Mahrez has enjoyed differing levels of importance under Pep Guardiola due to the intense competition for places at City. As a result, he has occasionally found himself on the sidelines during his three-year stay so far.
However, the 30-year-old has shown his class whenever he has been called upon. Mahrez has scored 39 goals and provided 37 assists in 142 matches across all competitions for the Mancunians.
His time at the Etihad has seen him win seven major trophies, including two Premier League titles and three consecutive League Cups.
Also See: Top 5 countries with the most Copa America titles
#2 Cedric Bakambu - £65m (Villarreal to Beijing Guoan) - 2018
This is without a doubt the most surprising transfer on the list and one of the most curious in footballing history.
Cedric Bakambu joined La Liga side Villarreal in 2015. He played some of the best football of his career for the Yellow Submarines before joining Chinese side Beijing Guoan midway through the 2017-18 season.
The DR Congo international left Villarreal for £65m after a very protracted transfer. Bakambu has adapted extremely well to the Chinese Super League. He has scored 43 goals in 58 league matches and finished as the top-scorer in the 2020 CSL campaign.
#1 Nicolas Pepe - £72m (OSC Lille to Arsenal) - 2019
Arsenal broke their transfer record on an African player for the second time in as many years when they paid £72m to LOSC Lille to sign Nicolas Pepe. The Ivory Coast international joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019.
Pepe had just come off a spectacular season that saw him score 22 goals and provide 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 matches. He was one of just two players to finish with double-figure assists and goals in Europe's top five leagues in the 2018-19 season. The other player? A certain Lionel Messi.
Pepe's time at Arsenal has, however, been far from spectacular. The 26-year-old has been plagued by inconsistencies, as well as poor decision-making. This has put the 26-year-old under the spotlight negatively and has consequently seen him kept out of the starting XI on several occasions.
The fact that Pepe is the club's record signing has only served to exacerbate his underperformance in north London.
After an underwhelming debut season with the Gunners, Nicolas Pepe stepped up in his sophomore campaign. He was one of Arsenal's better players in what was a disappointing 2020-21 season. Pepe scored 16 goals and assisted five more across 47 matches for the Gunners in their last campaign.
He is expected to build on from his decent run of form as the Gunners enter what could be a make-or-mar campaign.
Also See: Seven greatest Brazilian defenders of all time
