The Zambian female duo of Racheal Kundananji and Barbra Banda stole the headlines this year with their record-breaking moves to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States.
Kundananji, in particular, etched her name into the history books by becoming the first African player to break the world’s transfer record following her €735,000 move from Madrid CFF to Bay FC.
Her transfer fee, however, significantly falls short off the €222 million Paris Saint-Germain paid to sign Neymar Jr. from FC Barcelona.
It is also much lower than the biggest fees paid to sign Zambian players in the men’s game.
BolaNews unveils the list of five of the costliest Zambian players in men’s football history.
5. Stopilla Sunzu (€3M: FC Sochaux to SH Shenhua, 2015)
In 2015, Sunzu made the switch from French second-tier club FC Sochaux to Chinese Super League side SH Shenhua in a deal worth €3 million.
During his time at Shenhua, the center-back went back to France on loan, where he was reunited with his 2012 AfCON-winning coach, Hervé Renard, at LOSC Lille
4. Emmanuel Mayuka (€4M: BSC Young Boys to Southampton, 2012)
Fresh from winning the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) with Zambia as the tournament’s top scorer, Mayuka was on the radar of a number of European clubs.
It was Southampton FC who splashed the cash for the Chipolopolo center-forward when they paid €4 million to sign him from BSC Young Boys. However, Mayuka did not score a single Premier League goal during his time at Southampton, despite making 16 league appearances.
3. Fashion Sakala (€4.65M: Rangers to Al Fayha, 2023)
Just as Fashion Sakala was beginning to flourish at Rangers FC, the club offloaded him to Saudi Arabia last summer, where he joined Al Fayha for a fee of €4.65 million. The Zambian winger was disappointed with the club hierarchy and manager for facilitating his untimely exit from Scotland.
“When I was coming back for the new season, I thought the coach would trust me and want me there for the new season,” Sakala said about Rangers coach Michael Beale. “He didn’t talk to me about anything or any transfers. I could have at least been respected a little bit and left the club in a good way.”
2. Enock Mwepu (€23M: RB Salzburg to Brighton, 2021)
Brighton and Hove Albion secured the services of midfielder Enock Mwepu in 2021 from RB Salzburg for a reported fee of €23 million.
He became one of the first-ever Zambian players to score a goal in the Premier League when he notched a goal-of-the-season contender against his boyhood club Liverpool FC in October 2021. Just a year after that historic moment, Mwepu announced his retirement from football at only 24 years. This was following the diagnosis of a hereditary heart disease.
1. Patson Daka (€30M: RB Salzburg to Leicester City, 2021)
The accolade for being the most expensive player in the history of Zambian football belongs to Chipolopolo talisman Patson Daka. Leicester City FC paid €30 million to RB Salzburg for the pacy striker in the summer of 2021.
He has scored 22 goals in 91 appearances for the club in all competitions. This includes an unprecedented six in European competitions. According to Transfermarkt, Daka is the most valuable Southern African player in world football.
