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Mazembe players pocket bonuses KPL players can only dream of


Players of Congolese top club TP Mazembe at the weekend pocked huge bonuses that would make any player in the Kenyan Premier League go green with envy – the equivalent of Sh 200,000 all in a single day’s work!

And just floss their riches, the players took to social media to take selfies with the crisp wads of bank notes that they received from club President Moise Katumbi for reaching the final of the African Champions League.

The Congolese team comfortably dispatched Sudanese opponents El Merreikh 3-0 in Lubumbashi on Sunday to sail into the final of the continent’s premier club football competition on a 4-2 aggregate win.

Katumbi, a successful businessman, Governor of Katanga Province and an ardent football fan promptly rewarded each of the 20 players with an equivalent of Sh 200,000 in winning allowance alone – almost double the amount the playing squad was entitled to.

RICH CLUB OWNER

The ‘extravagance’ that Governor Katumbi often affords the four-time African champions – who are said to be eyeing Kenyan prodigy Micheal Olunga – is in sharp contrast to the situation in the Kenyan Premier League.

For a start, the average salary of KPL players comes nowhere close to Sh 200,000. Besides, a majority of Kenyan clubs struggle to consistently pay their players and largely relay on the goodwill of politicians, fans and well-wishers.

With TP Mazembe set to take on Algerian club USM Algiers in the final of the competition next month, and the Congolese players – should they win – are certain to pocket a bigger windfall.

The Algerian club beat another Sudanese outfit, Al Hilal, 2-1 on aggregate to reach the final.