On 9 January, Manchester City unveiled Antoine Semenyo as their first signing of the winter window. The fee was a reported £65 million. Eight months later Thomas Partey stood in Riyadh, presented by Al Shabab after a single season at Villarreal. Same flag, different worlds. Between those two moments sits the story of Ghanaian football money in 2026.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Richest on published estimates | Thomas Partey, about $36.4m according to Yen.com.gh |
| Richest retired player | Michael Essien, about $35m on the same estimates |
| Biggest current contract | Antoine Semenyo, reported £150,000 a week basic at Manchester City |
| Partey's club now | Al Shabab, Saudi Arabia, since August 2026 |
| Kudus's club now | Tottenham, after a £55m move from West Ham in 2025 |
| Are the fortunes audited? | No. None of these players has published his wealth |
How this list was built
Every figure in the table below comes from one place. Yen.com.gh published its ranking in May 2025 and revised it in January 2026. Its numbers are the ones that travel across Ghanaian social media. We could not verify them independently, so treat them as estimates published by Yen, not bank statements. Contracts are firmer ground. Gross wages are not wealth, though: tax, agents, family obligations and spending all sit between the payslip and the fortune.
Where no outlet has published a credible estimate, we say so.
| # | Player | Club or status, October 2026 | Published estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Partey | Al Shabab | about $36.4m (Yen) |
| 2 | Michael Essien | Retired | about $35m (Yen) |
| 3 | Jeffrey Schlupp | Released by Norwich, summer 2026 | about $27.4m (Yen) |
| 4 | Asamoah Gyan | Retired 2023 | about $23m (Yen) |
| 5 | Sulley Muntari | Retired | about $22m (Yen) |
| 6 | Kevin-Prince Boateng | Retired 2023 | $20m to $25m (Yen) |
| 7 | Jordan Ayew | Sheffield United | about $19.3m (Yen) |
| 8 | Andre Ayew | Left NAC Breda, 2026 | about $16m (Yen) |
| 9 | Iñaki Williams | Athletic Club | about $15m (Yen) |
| 10 | Antoine Semenyo | Manchester City | Not published |
One name is missing from that table, and readers ask about him often: Abedi Pele. In a separate Yen piece on the Ayew family in May 2025, his fortune was put at $15 million, a figure the outlet credited to Surprise Sports and linked to his playing days, endorsements and business ventures, including Nania FC, the club he founded. The same article quoted Salary Sport figures of $25 million for Jordan and about $37 million for Andre. Those numbers clash with Yen's own ranking above.
That is the problem with football fortunes.
The active players at the top
Partey's case has to be told with care.
His Arsenal contract expired at the end of June 2025 and, days later, he was charged in London; the counts now stand at seven of rape and one of sexual assault, and he has pleaded not guilty to all of them. Villarreal signed him on a one-year deal in August 2025, saying he “firmly maintains his innocence”.
He played 32 times as Villarreal finished third in La Liga. The club still let him go in June. His trial, first listed for November at Southwark Crown Court, now starts on 8 June 2027. The money side is simpler. Spotrac reported his Arsenal wage at £200,000 a week. Salary Leaks put the Villarreal package at roughly €60,000 a week.
A sharp cut.
Semenyo has no published fortune yet, which is why he sits tenth on paper. The Guardian reported his City wage at about £150,000 a week basic over five years. “My best football is yet to come, I am sure of that,” he said.
Then there is Kudus, the other new earner. Tottenham paid West Ham £55 million in July 2025 and, according to Spotrac, handed him a six-year contract, but a quadriceps injury suffered against Sunderland in January wrecked his season and cost him the World Cup; more is in our Kudus profile.
The legends who banked it
Essien is the benchmark for a retired Ghanaian. Chelsea, Real Madrid and AC Milan paid well. He later joined the coaching staff at FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark. In 2025 he told Sporty FM he had turned down a Black Stars role because he “was not ready”. Gyan called time on 20 June 2023 in Accra, aged 37, as Ghana's record scorer with 51 goals. His business interests, airline included, are covered in our Asamoah Gyan profile.
Boateng went quietly.
He signed off in August 2023 at Hertha Berlin, where it all began. Muntari, the 2010 Inter Milan treble winner, finished his career at Accra Hearts of Oak after the 2021/22 season and told reporters a few months later that he simply did not want to play football any more.
The Ayews, Schlupp and Iñaki
“I have a lot of desire this season to make an impact and to help the team,” said Jordan Ayew after joining Sheffield United on a one-year deal. He had left Leicester when his contract ran out this summer. His wider career is in our Jordan Ayew file.
His brother Andre, now 36, left Le Havre in 2025, joined NAC Breda in January on a short deal, went down with them in the Eredivisie and then watched the Dutch club decline the option to keep him for another season. Schlupp's route was quieter. Eight and a half years at Crystal Palace, a loan at Celtic, then one season at Norwich.
Iñaki Williams is still at Athletic Club. On 11 September he retired from international football after 28 Ghana caps and two goals, a spell that included the 2026 World Cup. “Ghana has given me much more than football,” he wrote. The full story is in our Iñaki Williams guide.
Why the numbers stay uncertain
None of the ten has published accounts. Not one. Property, endorsements and private companies are hard to value from outside, which is why we lean on contracts and fees. Semenyo and Kudus are earning at a rate few Ghanaians before them reached, while the veterans' estimates have barely changed in two years, so one fresh, sourced figure for either forward could reshape the top five.
The ranking will move again.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 hours ago
