Sofiane Boufal has joined Al-Ittihad Tripoli after leaving Le Havre, with the Morocco international reportedly set to earn $5m (£3.7m) per season in Libya.
The 32-year-old’s contract is expected to make him the highest-paid player in African club football, alongside Fiston Mayele. Boufal’s move is a notable one because it will be the first time in his career that he has played for a club on the African continent.
His decision to join Al-Ittihad may appear unexpected, but it reflects the growing financial ambitions of Libyan football. Clubs in the country are increasingly seeking to attract established names and are attempting to establish Libya as one of Africa’s emerging high-value football markets.
According to Africafoot, Boufal will receive $5m per season, equivalent to about €4.3m. That figure matches the reported annual salary of Mayele, who moved from Pyramids FC to Al-Ahli Tripoli several weeks earlier.
The deal for the Congolese striker was reported to be worth $10m over two seasons, meaning Mayele will also earn $5m each year. Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad are rivals from Tripoli and are regarded as two of the biggest clubs in Libya.
Boufal made 17 Ligue 1 appearances for Le Havre, scoring once and providing four assists, before becoming a free agent. Despite his move to Libya, he still had options in Europe, with a return to Spain reportedly under consideration and Metz also said to have shown interest.
The forward had also continued to hope that he would be included in Morocco’s World Cup plans, but he ultimately missed out on selection.
The scale of Boufal’s contract, and the agreement secured by Mayele, underline the growing ambitions of Libya’s leading clubs. Their spending power allows them to offer salaries that are beyond the reach of most teams elsewhere in African football.
Libyan football has spent years affected by instability in the country and has lagged behind neighbouring Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt in terms of development and profile. Those countries also benefit from larger population bases and deeper football talent pools.
There is now a clear attempt to revitalise the domestic game through significant investment. Al-Ittihad, the record holder for Libyan league titles with 18 championships, has strengthened its squad with a player who has previously represented Lille, Southampton, Celta Vigo, Al-Rayyan and Union Saint-Gilloise.
Al-Ahli, meanwhile, recruited Mayele after a period in which the striker had won the African Champions League with Pyramids, among other achievements.
If the strategy continues, the arrival of high-profile players could become increasingly common in Libya during future transfer windows. The country’s league could then develop into a new destination for established footballers, alongside the more familiar African powers of Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.
For Boufal, the move represents a major change of direction after his time in France and his previous spells across Europe, Qatar and Belgium. It also gives the Morocco international one of the most lucrative contracts currently available in African club football.