Ghana's Gyan is most paid African playing in Chinese football league

Captain of the Ghana national team, the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan, is the highest African player plying his trade in the booming Chinese league.

The player who is also a boxing promoter and part time musician in Ghana however lost out on being the overall highest paid player in the Chinese league. He dropped to third highest after the signings of Brazilian Hulk and Italian forward Graziano Pelle.

Hulk will join Asamoah at Shanghai SIPG for the coming season, whiles Pelle would don the shirt of rivals Shangdong Luneng from Southampton.

Hulk will receive £16.5m-a-year, making him the third highest paid player in the world and highest in China while Graziano Pelle will receive £12.5m-a-year (sixth most paid player in the world).

Asamoah Gyan, who earns a whooping amount of £11.8m a year deal from his club Shanghai SIPG, has dropped down to the 7th highest paid player of the world after being 6th previously. He however earns more money than Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller.

Find below a fill list of the world’s most paid footballers as at 2016

• 1. Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid: £18m-a-year
• 2. Lionel Messi – Barcelona: £17m-a-year
• 3. Hulk – Shanghai SIPG: £16.5m-a-year
• 4. Neymar – Barcelona: £15m-a-year
• 5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Manchester United: £13m-a-year
• 6. Graziano Pelle – Shandong Luneng: £12.5m-a-year
• 7. Asamoah Gyan – Shanghai SIPG: £11.8m-a-year
• 8. Thomas Muller – Bayern Munich: £11.5m a-year
• 9. Ezequiel Lavezzi – Hebai China Fortune: £10.5m a-year
• 10. Jackson Martinez – Guangzhou: £10m-a-year

The Asian league particularly the Chinese league has recently been attracting interest from players who move there sometimes to end their careers. African players have not been left out with the recent signing of Shandong Luneng of Senegalese striker paiss Cisse from Newcastle United.