Nigeria's Mikel Obi alongside retired players Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo are among the top 10 highest earning African players of all time according to a study conducted & published by French publication, Footendirect. With a cumulative take-home of $50 million, John Mikel Obi is now the best paid among the current generation of Nigerian players.
According to Footendirect, Mikel who earns about £75,000 per week at Chelsea has a total earnings estimate of $50m while Kanu Nwankwo and Jay Jay Okocha who have since retired made $100m and $150m respectively from their career. See the full list after the jump.
1. Samuel Eto'o/Antalyaspor : 202 millions de dollars
2. Yaya Touré/Manchester City : 170 millions de dollars
3. Didier Drogba/Montreal : 155 millions de dollars
4. Jay-Jay Okocha : 150 millions de dollars
5. Nwankwo Kanu : 100 millions de dollars
6. Michaël Essien/Panathinaïkos : 70 millions de dollars
7. Emmanuel Adebayor/Libre : 57 millions de dollars
8. Obi Mikel/Chelsea : 50 millions de dollars
9. Kolo Touré/Liverpool : 43 millions de dollars
10. Sulley Muntari/Al-Ittihad : 40 millions de dollars