From a salary of 72 million euros before taxes (35 million/season after taxes) at PSG, Kylian Mbappe will “only” receive 32 million euros/season before taxes (15 million euros/season after taxes) at Real Madrid. However, this figure is still 5 million euros higher than the income of David Alaba, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, the trio receiving the highest salary on the previous team.
“There are no free dreams,” Mbappe said during his first appearance before the media at the Bernabeu. This shows that the French striker accepts to sacrifice financial benefits to be able to wear his dream shirt and have the hope of winning the biggest titles.
Previously, he rejected financially superior offers from Saudi Arabian clubs, just to fulfill his dream of winning the Champions League, something Real Madrid has done too often in recent years.
But in fact, Mbappe did not lose too much in overall income. By retaining 80% of his image rights and associating his brand with Real Madrid, his advertising revenue will increase to about 30 million euros per season. Added to this are all sorts of bonuses (appearances, goals, collective and individual trophies), and a signing bonus (80 million euros).
Mbappe fulfilled his dream of playing for Real Madrid and to do so, he had to adapt to the salary structure the club had set for him. The Frenchman leads the payroll with a net salary of 15 million euros per year, 5 million more than Alaba, Vinicius and Bellingham. These are the 3 highest paid players in the current Real Madrid squad.
Toni Kroos’s departure means Real Madrid no longer has to pay 10 million euros for one player. Meanwhile, Luka Modric also had to cut his salary when signing an extension. Therefore, there are only 4 players left with a net salary of 10 million euros or more at the Bernabeu. Behind this quartet is Fede Valverde with 8 million euros per year. Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao earn half of what Mbappe is paid.
Remember, these are the pillars of Real Madrid. Courtois quickly regained form after a serious knee injury and returned in time to play in the Champions League final. Meanwhile, Rudiger becomes the “boss” of the defense, while Militao is expected to regain peak form after his injury.
Rodrygo, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni are in the middle group in terms of salary with 6 million euros after tax. Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos have a net salary of 5 million euros. Lucas Vazquez follows closely behind with 4.6 million euros and even lower is Brahim Diaz with a salary of 3.5 million euros, along with the duo Arda Guler and Fran Garcia with 2.5 million euros. Also in this group is Endrick, a Brazilian rookie who has negotiated a salary of 3 million euros.
Andriy Lunin’s net salary is 1.3 million euros, and is still in the process of negotiating a contract extension. The Ukrainian goalkeeper still has another year left on his contract. He wants to play more and also wants to be more financially secure. The lowest paid player in Real Madrid’s current squad is Jesus Vallejo, receiving a salary of less than 1 million euros.
President Florentino Perez once emphasized that there will not be too much imbalance in the team’s salary budget, after successfully recruiting Mbappe. Real Madrid has significantly cut its salary budget over the past two years with the departures of Eden Hazard, Mariano Diaz, Casemiro, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio, Nacho Fernandez and Kroos. In total, pushing these people out has helped them reduce their wages by more than 50 million euros.
