Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga continued to demonstrate his goal-scoring prowess by outscoring prominent African stars like Sadio Mane and Victor Boniface in the 2023-24 season.
Despite a challenging season with Al Duhail, Olunga managed to shine individually, scoring enough goals to surpass some of Africa’s most esteemed forwards. Although Al Duhail, who won a treble in the 2022-23 season, ended the 2023-24 campaign without silverware—culminating in a 1-0 loss to Al Sadd in the Emir Cup semi-final—Olunga’s individual performance stood out.
The 30-year-old striker finished the season with an impressive tally of 28 goals and three assists across all competitions, achieved in 32 games. This remarkable feat placed him fifth among Africa’s top scorers for the 2023-24 season. Leading the pack was Serhou Guirassy of Guinea, who scored 31 goals and provided two assists for Bundesliga side Stuttgart, which secured an incredible second-place finish, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time.
Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah secured second place with 30 goals and 17 assists in 50 games. Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang matched Salah’s goal tally with 30 goals and 11 assists in 52 games for French club Marseille. Moroccan forward Abderrazak Hamdallah, playing for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, managed 29 goals and four assists in 38 games, placing him just above Olunga.
Olunga surpassed Senegalese superstar Sadio Mane of Saudi club Al-Nassr, who scored 25 goals and provided 15 assists in 54 games. He also outscored Congolese Simon Banza of French club Creil and Moroccan Youssef En-Nesyri of Sevilla, both of whom netted 23 goals.
Ghana’s Mohammed Kudus, a revelation in his debut season with West Ham, and Nigeria’s Victor Boniface, who won the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen, both scored 21 goals in the recently concluded season.
With 28 goals in 32 games, Olunga was the most efficient among Africa’s top scorers, having played the fewest games. His performance could have been even more remarkable had he not been sidelined for over two months with a knee injury between December and February. Of his 28 goals, 15 came in the Qatar Stars League, five in the Asian Champions League (where his team exited at the group stage), and the remainder in cup competitions.
Despite Al Duhail’s poor season, finishing sixth and failing to defend their league title, Olunga’s scoring record provided a silver lining, underscoring his exceptional talent and efficiency.
