ZAMBIA’S WEALTHIEST FOOTBALL STARS:
The Top Five Highest Earners of All Time
Walliey Christiano Mukena
Zambia’s highest-paid footballers boast impressive salaries, thanks to their skills and international recognition. Here are the top five highest earners ever.
5. CHRISTOPHER KATONGO – $458,000
At number five is CK 11: a name that needs no introduction. More than a name, a creed, a hero’s anthem, a nation’s need.
Katongo was a lion of the pitch, a warrior’s heart and his name still etch in fire. He was Zambia’s national pride as his team of 2012 bore gold pales roaring to an AFCON glory and the burning flame and country’s beacon of hope the same year carried the legendary number 11 shirt to a BBC African footballer of the year honour.
At Brondby in Denmark where his career hit helm, the numbers spoke— he earned a staggering annual salary of – $458,000. Thats a king’s cloak!
4. STOPHILLA SUNZU – $2,000,000
At number four is Stophilla Sunzu. A titan and defence sentinel of unyielding boldness. Sunzu is a story of grit, of heart and of gold. A Zambian icon and destiny’s course as his roots trace from the neighbouring DRC. From T.P Mazembe to Sochaux’s fray, to Arsenal Tula amd now in China, he paved his own way to this glory bath tab having scored the 2012 AFCON winning penalty. He literally made the AFCON stage his own. At the peak of his powers, Sunzu had an annual salary of $ 2, 000,000 as testament to his mighty.
3. FASHION SAKALA – $ 2,100,403.68
Fashion Sakala’s oil fortune falls on number 3. A phylanthropist and member of the 2017 under 20 AFCON winning team, the gifted winger is a live wire on the offence. His deft touch and incredible footwork often leaves defenders in stitches while he poseses some unstoppable scoring ability. This talent has moved him the world from Belgium to Scotland and now in Saudi Arabia where he earns over K50,000,000 per month translated into $ 2,100,403.68.
2. ENOCK MWEPU – €22,162,880
At number 2 is Enock Mwepu —more than a player, a beacon, a flame,
A name that connects a nation to a soul forever.
He was a maestro and an Unstoppable Force and mind wired for brilliance, a heart set on course. Enock was a midfield majician who etched his story from the COSAFA youths tournaments before leading Zambia to the 2017 under 20 AFCON glory then from Salzburg’s heights to Brighton’s shore. He dazzled the world and left us wanting more when a heart condition silenced his stride but his legacy remains unbroken and untied. At Brighton he was up for an annual figure that roars:
€23,162,880
After retiring from professional football due to a hereditary heart condition, Mwepu joined Brighton’s academy as an under-9s coach with an estimated annual salary of around £29,250 (approximately K632,835.83 or half a million Zambian kwacha)
1. PATSON DAKA € 23, 567,923
With a current market value of € 14 million, there has never been a Zambian footballer highly valued than him before and he definitely rules this list. A clinical finisher with wheels under his feet, Patson Daka’s impressive skills and goal scoring pernache earned him a spot at Leicester City, with an estimated annual salary of €22 million. Though his future with relegated Leicester remain uncertain, his market value remains around €14 million