Football’s worst-kept secret has finally been inked this week as Kylian Mbappe officially departs Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for a much-anticipated contract with Real Madrid.
A simple one-line statement from the reigning kings of La Liga and now 15-time UEFA Champions League winners announced this free transfer acquisition:
“Real Madrid CF and Kylian Mbappe have reached an agreement whereby he will be a Real Madrid player for the next five seasons.”
What has raised eyebrows, however, is the financial dimensions of said Real Madrid contract.
For context, the 2018 FIFA World Cup champion’s two-year deal with his Ligue 1 side was worth approximately €72 million ($118 million) per season before tax; along with “loyalty bonuses” of a similar amount paid out annually and a signing-on fee of €150 million ($245 million).
Previous to that, as an 18-year-old phenom, he was poached from AS Monaco FC for an equally ridiculous deal thought to be at a disclosed value of around €180 million ($295 million) across three years also before tax and excluding bonuses.
So just how much of a salary will Kylian Mbappe be enjoying at Real Madrid?
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Kylian Mbappe Real Madrid Contract Details (Salary)
Given his longstanding career ambitions to add a UEFA Champions League title to his proverbial cabinet — coming painfully close in 2019-20 as runner-ups with Paris Saint-Germain; and crumbling to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals this year — at this stage, Kylian Mbappe is willing to make sacrifices.
According to Sky Sports, his five-year deal with Real Madrid involves a surprisingly modest annual salary of €15 million ($25 million) after tax, supplemented by a juicy €85 million ($140 million) signing-on bonus. All up, he’s looking at a base financial compensation of around €160 million ($260 million) for his half-decade commitment, compared to the €200 million+ ($325 million) for a fraction of the time at PSG.
This is also considerably less than the staggering US$1.1 billion bid the Saudi Arabia Professional League’s Al-Hilal made for the French superstar last year: US$332 million (AU$540 million) in the form of a transfer fee paid to PSG, US$776 million (AU$1.3 billion) in player salary.
Still… you could be earning way less as a 25-year-old. Believe me.
Kylian Mbappe is expected to make his debut with Real Madrid on August 14th, 2024 in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta (PGE Narodowy Stadium, Warsaw). As for when he’ll debut on home turf at the Santiago Bernabeu, that momentous occasion has yet to be determined.
Mbappe leaves Paris Saint-Germain as a six-time Ligue 1 champion (2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24); a four-time Coupe de France winner (2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2023–24); a two-time Coupe de la Ligue winner (2017-18, 2019-20); having also won the Trophée des Champions thrice (2019, 2020, 2023); and scored a club record 256 goals across 308 appearances.
