Nigeria's Mikel Obi alongside retired players Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo are among the top 10 highest earning African players of all time according to a study conducted & published by French publication, Footendirect. With a cumulative take-home of $50 million, John Mikel Obi is now the best paid among the current generation of Nigerian players.

According to Footendirect, Mikel who earns about £75,000 per week at Chelsea has a total earnings estimate of $50m while Kanu Nwankwo and Jay Jay Okocha who have since retired made $100m and $150m respectively from their career. See the full list after the jump.

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http://9jahome.com/?p=3112

1. Samuel Eto'o/Antalyaspor : 202 millions de dollars
2. Yaya Touré/Manchester City : 170 millions de dollars
3. Didier Drogba/Montreal : 155 millions de dollars
4. Jay-Jay Okocha : 150 millions de dollars
5. Nwankwo Kanu : 100 millions de dollars
6. Michaël Essien/Panathinaïkos : 70 millions de dollars
7. Emmanuel Adebayor/Libre : 57 millions de dollars
8. Obi Mikel/Chelsea : 50 millions de dollars
9. Kolo Touré/Liverpool : 43 millions de dollars
10. Sulley Muntari/Al-Ittihad : 40 millions de dollars

How can the list be based on how much they made over the years...as if they don't spend money, and it just sits in the bank. A man that made 50 million dollars 5 years ago can be broke right now, so the list ain't valid. It should be based on the individual investments they have and how much they still make today.