Top 15+ Kenyan Footballers abroad and their Salaries in 2024
Have you ever wondered who Kenyan footballers play in the international leagues, which team they play for, and how much they are paid? In this article, we look into the careers and finances of Kenyan soccer players who have signed into International premier league clubs.
Football has become a lucrative profession, with Footballers arguably among the highest-paid professionals in the world. Kenya has produced many star footballers who have played in the country’s Premier League and at the international leagues in other parts of the world, including the English Premier League.
Michael Olunga
Michael is a renowned footballer; he plays as a striker for Qatar’s league club, Al Duhail, and captains the Kenya National Team. He earns an average weekly salary of $46800, equivalent to 6.8 M Kenyan Shillings, which ranks him as the highest-paid Kenyan footballer in 2023. Olunga has a remarkable career and impressive field performance at his former and current clubs. In 2018, he scored a hat trick in the Spanish league, Laliga.
Victor Wanyama
Victor is a renowned footballer and midfielder for Harambee Stars and CF Montreal. He earns an average weekly salary of $43500, almost equivalent to 6.3M Kenyan Shilling. He formerly played for English Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton and the Scottish Football Club Celtic.
Wanyama has been a football icon to younger footballers through his inspiring story. He started his football career playing for Kenya’s Premier League clubs before making his first debut at the National Team and moving to international leagues, playing in the English Premier League.
Arnold Origi
Arnold is a Kenyan professional footballer and goalkeeper for the Norwegian sports Club Hareid. He earns an average monthly salary of $ 27000, equivalent to 3.9M.
He started playing for Kenya Premier League Clubs Mathare United and Tusker FC before moving abroad to play for several clubs, including Moss, Fredrisktad, Lillestrom, Sandnes Ulf, and Hoss.
He has played for the Kenya National Team in several international leagues and friendlies in his football career.
Masoud Juma
Masoud is a Kenyan Professional Footballer who is a center-forward for the Saudi Arabian League Club, Al Jabalain, and the Kenya national team. His salary at his current club as of 2023 is yet to be revealed, but his net worth is estimated at $5M.
He started his football journey at his school football team and Youth football clubs in his hometown. After that, he was signed in by Kenyan Premier League club Bandari FC. Since then, he has played for several local football clubs, including Sony Sugar Kariobangi Sharks, until 2018, when South Africa’s Cape Town City FC signed him in and moved to Dibba Club in UAE.
In 2019, he joined Libyan club Al-Nasr Benghazi until January 2023, then moved to Al Faisaly on loan from Difaa Hassani El Jadidi. He joined Al Jabalain in July 2023. He made his senior international debut at the 2017 AFCON qualifying match.
Ayub Masika
Masika is a Kenyan professional footballer and forward winger for Nanjing City Club and the Kenyan National Team. He earns an average weekly salary of $9995, equivalent to almost 1.5 million Kenyan shillings.
He started his football career by joining several football academies in Kenya and the USA before he signed his first contract with Genk Club. He has played for clubs including Lierse, Beijing Renhe, Reading, Vissel Kobe, and Buriram United.
Ayub has a successful career with his former clubs, winning the Belgian Cup at Genk in the Thai League Cup and the Thai FA Cup at Buriram United. He also plays for the Harambee Stars National Team in international competitions and friendlies, including the 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifications and the 2018 and 2021 FIFA World Cup qualifications.
David Ochieng
David is a professional footballer who plays for the Saudi Arabian league club Al Ansar and Kenya’s national team. He earns an average salary of $5000 per week, equivalent to an estimated Kenyan shillings of $ 731,000.
David has a successful football career; he started playing for Kenya’s Premier League clubs, including AFC Leopards, Tusker FC, and Mathare United, before moving abroad to play for European clubs, including New York Cosmos and Swedish Club.
Eric Johanna Omondi
Eric is a professional footballer and former midfielder for Mathare United. He plays as a winger for the Thai Club Muangthong United. He is amongst the high-earning football professionals in Kenya, with a salary of 4000 pounds a week, equivalent to Ksh 704000.
Eric has played in several clubs, including Vasserlunds and IF Brommapojkarna clubs, and has represented Kenya at International competitions during the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifications.
Joseph Okumu
Joseph is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a defender for French club Reims and Kenya’s national team, Harambee Stars. He is one of Kenya’s high-paid young footballers who earns an average weekly salary of $2616, equivalent to Ksh 382,000.
He has played for local and international clubs, including Real Monarchs, IF Elfsborg, and Gents. He has represented Kenya at the U21 and U23 international competitions and made his first international debut for the senior national team in 2016.
Daniel Francis Anyembe
Daniel is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Danish Superliga Club, Viborg Club, and Kenya National Team. He earns a weekly salary of $2500, equivalent to Ksh 365500. He had a successful career at the Esbjerg FB before Viborg signed him in 2021.
Francis has represented both Kenya and Denmark at international competitions, including the 2019 and 2022 U21 competitions and in September 2023, he was part of Harambee Star’s squad at the international friendly against Qatar.
Abdi Salim
Abdi is a Kenyan-US-based Professional footballer who plays for Orlando City as a defender and center-back. He reportedly earns an average weekly salary of $1250, equivalent to Ksh 182500.
He had risen in his football journey when he first played his first game for Delaware SC. He was recruited for Rochester-based Empire United Under 17 and under-19 teams.
He signed a one-year contract with the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, Orlando City, with an optional three years in February 2023.
Lawrence Olum
Lawrence is a Kenyan Professional footballer who plays as a defender and a Midfielder for Miami FC. He is amongst the top-paid Kenyan footballers, earning an average weekly salary of $17425, equivalent to an estimated Kshs 2.5M.
Olum has played for several clubs, including Sporting Kansas City, Orland City, Portland Timbers, Minnesota United FC, and currently at Miami FC. He also represented the Kenya national team at the 2012 CECAFA Cup.
Henry Meja
Henry is a professional footballer who plays for Norrby IF. He earns an average salary of $1250 per week, equivalent to Ksh182500. He played for Kenya’s Premier League club, Tusker FC, before Swedish Club AIK signed him for a three-year contract.
He made his first international debut in the National U23 Team at the 2021 CECAFA U-23 Cup challenge. In January 2023, AIK loaned him out to Norrby IF.
Philip Mayaka
Philip is a Kenyan footballer and a midfielder for Crown Legacy in the Major League Soccer. He earns an average salary of $ 1250 weekly, equivalent to Ksh 182,500.
He started his football journey locally while playing for local clubs before moving to the United States. He ended up playing with Orlando City Academy. In January 2023, he signed a contract with MLS Next Pro side Crown Legacy.
Handwalla Bwana
Bwana is a Kenyan-Somalian professional footballer who is an attacking Midfielder for the United States League Championship Club, Charleston Battery. He earns an estimated weekly salary of $1250, equivalent to Ksh182500.
He started his football journey career by joining the Seattle Sounder Founder Academy. Since then, he has risen in his career playing for Seattle Academy and Nashville before moving to Charleston Battery on a free transfer in 2023.
Eric ‘Marcelo’ Otieno
Eric ‘Marcelo’ is a Professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Swedish club AIK. He is one of Kenya’s high-paid football players with an average weekly salary of $2500, equivalent to Kshs 456800.He started his career at Kenya’s Premier League, Gor Mahia, before moving to Georgia and Albania clubs and the Swedish club, Vasalund.
Marcelo made his international debut in Kenya’s national team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifications.
Ismael Athuman
Ismael is a professional footballer who plays as a defender and midfielder for the Spanish Football team, Sabadell, and the Kenya national team. He earns a weekly salary of $755, equivalent to Kshs110000.
He has played for several Spanish football clubs, including Las Palmas B, Las Palmas Granada B, and Real Murcia, before moving to Sabadell in 2021.
He made his first international debut representing Kenya at the 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifiers and Kenya at the 2019 African Cup of Nations.
Linton Maina
Linton is a Kenyan-German-born footballer who plays as a midfielder for Koln Bundesliga Club. He earns a weekly salary of $3740, equivalent to Ksh 547,000. He has a promising career, with his first professional debut at Hannover 96 in the 2017-2018 season Bundesliga competition. He then signed a three-contract with Koln FC on a free transfer.
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FAQS
Who is the highest-paid Kenyan professional footballer in 2023?
Michael Olunga, a striker for Qatar’s league Club, Al Duhail, is the highest-paid Kenyan footballer in 2023. He earns a weekly wage of 37,500 pounds, equivalent to 6.6 million Kenyan Shillings.
Who is the richest footballer in Kenya?
Victor Wanyama is the richest Footballer in Kenya in 2023, with a net worth of $13.9 million. He has played for the English Premier League Clubs and several high-end paying clubs.
How much do Kenyan professional footballers earn?
It depends on the contract agreement between the player and the club management. However, the average salary of a Kenyan professional player in 2023 ranges from 6.0M, the highest player earning, to even as low as Kshs 50,000
How do you become a professional footballer?
To be a professional footballer, you need to join a football training academy, train, and advance your skills; after attaining the age of 18 years through the academy, you will get sponsorships or contracts from football clubs.
Does football pay?
Football is the most lucrative profession in the world, with the highest-paid footballer earning an average salary of 200M pounds per week. However, in Kenya, footballers earn less than their colleagues in established football leagues worldwide, with most Kenyan professional footballers opting to sign contracts with international clubs.
