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Kylian Mbappe's arrival at Real Madrid is already considered one of the biggest transfers in football history, which of course involves a lot of money.
The club from the Spanish capital did not pay a single euro to Paris Saint-Germain, since they managed to include him in their team as a free agent. But it will offer the French superstar a signing bonus of €100 million and a salary of €15 million over the next 5 seasons. Certainly far below the money (25 million euros) that the French striker received in Paris Saint-Germain.
Something that was of great importance to the Spanish club regarding the Mbappe case was to be able to adjust the 25-year-old striker's salary to the financial data of the team, in order not to exceed the salaries of the rest of his teammates. And he kind of did it with some... patents. Signing bonus, royalty rate, etc.
And after such a great deal made by the "Queen", it is quite interesting to take a look at the list of the ten highest paid footballers of the Spanish team.
In the meantime let's look at what exactly happened in 2014. In early January, at Madrid's training complex in Valdebebas (where the club's offices are also located) it was agreed that a last ditch effort would be made to sign Mbappe, who many believed had say yes, according to others not yet. So several meetings were held on the matter, but some high-ranking officials at Real Madrid were not convinced that it was a good idea.
Firstly because a new failure in the case would put the club in a difficult position and secondly because the club's finances are still in a difficult position due to the remodeling of the Santiago Bernabeu, which will exceed at least 1.3 billion euros.
Some also believed that the atmosphere in the European and Spanish champions' dressing room could be affected by Mbappe's arrival as the highest-paid footballer when the vast majority of his new team-mates had won more trophies for the club. With the team dominating Europe for another year, many thought that Real could succeed without the Frenchman.
All this was there as thoughts, but Florentino Perez has put it in his mind for years that he could not back down. Mbappe appeared to be at loggerheads with Paris manager Luis Enrique and was looking for the next chapter and his beloved Real would not leave it at that. The terms he set for him were of course much shorter than 2022 and so everyone was happy.
Mbappe took his first step on January 3 when, without consulting Paris Saint-Germain, he spoke about his future openly to the media. “In 2022, I didn't know my decision until May. If I know what I want to do, I shouldn't let the decision drag on. It wouldn't make any sense."
Meanwhile, Paris president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said the club wanted him to stay: "He is the best player in the world and the best thing for him is PSG. It is located in the heart of the club. I ask everyone to leave Kylian alone."
Mbappe's words were interpreted positively in the Spanish capital, where Madrid were already working out the details of their bid. When the offer reached the player's entourage over the next few days, the club announced that his salary (the offer was slightly more than what Vinicius Jr. and Jude Bellingham were getting) and his signing fee would make him the its highest paid footballer.
Perez has been in regular contact with Mbappe during this process, something unusual for the Madrid club president. Usually, his right-hand man, their general manager José Ángel Sánchez, conducts the negotiations.
But Mbappe was a milestone for Real's strongman. Many believe it is the most important move since the transfer of Luis Figo, which paved the way for his Presidency. So he moved methodically and in the utmost secrecy to extract the deal. At the same time, Real rejected any rumours.
In talks with Mbappe, Perez described to him how signing for Real would raise the player's profile to another sporting and commercial level, which would help bring in further personal income. With a few exceptions, such as Vinicus Jr., the allocation in Madrid of image rights is usually 50% for the club and 50% for the player, although the share for Mbappe is expected to be in his favor.
The first place belongs to Mbappe, of course, with 26 million euros gross. So, second on the list is the Austrian stopper, David Alaba with 22.5 million euros. The Croatian midfielder Luka Modric is third with 21.88 million euros, while the fourth place is shared by Vinicius and Bellingham with 20.83 million euros. We always talk about gross amounts...
Valverde (16.67 million euros), Courtois (15 million euros), Militao - Rudiger (14.58 million euros) and Rodrigo - Tchuameni - Kamavinga (12.5 million euros) complete the top ten.
Manos Staramopoulos
Journalist and Analyst of International Football and Affairs
Chief Editor English Zone of Discoveryfootball.com
Athens (Greece)