Most expensive team in Africa: Super Eagles beat Senegal and Morocco to top spot

Super Eagles of Nigeria have beaten other continental heavyweights Senegal and Morocco to become the most expensive team in Africa as per Transfermarkt’s player valuation system. 

Nigeria was ranked number one in Africa and number 13 in the world, while being one of only two African nations to be ranked in the top 20 most valuable teams in the world, alongside Morocco, who finished fourth at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. 

Nigeria’s star-studded team, which comprises many household names playing their trade in the major European leagues, helped facilitate the ranking and the Super Eagles’ total valuation, which stands at €338.5 million according to valuation experts at Transfermarkt. 

The total valuation of the most significant Super Eagles players slightly eclipses Morocco’s total valuation, which stands at €306.85m, and makes them the second most expensive team in Africa as well as the 14th most expensive squad in the world. 

Nigeria’s current valuation is heavily impacted by star players like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, who is estimated to be worth €100 million. 

Other high-value players include Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, whose value is estimated to be €32m, making him the second-most expensive Super Eagle after Osimhen. 

Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman is believed to be worth €30m, while Everton’s Alex Iwobi’s value stands at €25m. 

Forwards Samuel Chukwueze and Terem Moffi are both worth €20m and share the honour of being the fifth-most expensive Super Eagles player. 

After Nigeria and Morocco in first and second places respectively, 2015 Africa Cup of Nations champions Ivory Coast are ranked third in the list of Africa’s most expensive squads with a total squad value of €251.03m, while Ghana are fourth with €241.20m. 

Reigning AFCON champions, Senegal are in fifth place with a total squad value of €221.40m despite having the current African Footballer of the year, Sadio Mane, who is valued at €45m. 

Mane’s valuation makes him the fourth-most expensive player in Africa, with three of the continent’s biggest stars ahead of him. 

Expectedly, Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is the most expensive player in Africa thanks to his €100 million valuation which also puts him among the top 10 most expensive players in the world. 

Osimhen is the only African player currently valued at €100 million or above, and is ahead of the continent’s second-most expensive players, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, and Moroccos’s Achraf Hakimi, who are both valued at €70 million. 

Ahead of a possible summer move in the summer, Osimhen’s valuation could play a crucial role in the type of club that he ends up with, since most clubs would be able to afford his current cost, while Napoli will certainly not be willing to go lower than the quoted estimate. 

Nigeria is the only country with two players in the top 10 most expensive players in Africa, while the Super Eagles and the Ivory Coast are the only ones to produce up to three players in the top 20.