France striker Kylian Mbappe, 25, has agreed a five-year deal with Real Madrid, having told Paris St-Germain he will leave in the summer.
Mbappé informed Madrid of his farewell to PSG.
Real Madrid’s formula to pay Kylian Mbappé. Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid have had a closed and signed agreement for two weeks, by which as of July 1, the French forward will become a prominent player for the white team, as confirmed by MARCA.
In this way, in 133 days, the longest courtship that world football has experienced in recent decades will officially come to an end. Player and club fulfill their wishes and finally unite their destinies, leaving behind a path that has experienced all kinds of vicissitudes since the summer of 2017.
In recent days, one of the most powerful clubs in football has explored the possibility of presenting an offer to the still PSG forward, but from the player’s environment, they have conveyed to them not to bother because Kylian has already firmly committed to Real Madrid.
He doesn’t want any more offers from PSG.
When the footballer met with the PSG president last Tuesday to inform him that on June 30 he would leave the club, he asked not to present any new renewal offer. The reason was that he had already signed his contract with Real Madrid for five seasons, as suspected in Paris for some time.
That conversation took place in a friendly atmosphere because since June of last year, when he formally communicated that he would not exercise the optional third season in his contract, Nasser Al Khelaifi was aware that his chances of convincing him again had been greatly reduced.
By that time, the Qatari leader was more interested in his star fulfilling the commitment agreed upon in the summer to renounce a very significant amount, the third installment of the loyalty bonus, so that they would allow him to reintegrate into the first team.
Contact in January.
The script for this definitive chapter in the negotiation has been followed scrupulously by both Real Madrid, who wanted to avoid any slight irregularity that could give PSG reasons to protest to UEFA and FIFA, and by the player, aware that after what happened in May 2022, he needed to ‘reconcile’ with the Madrid club executives and especially with their fans.
In the first days of January, once his contract entered its last six months of duration, Madrid contacted Mbappé’s environment to find out if the plan agreed upon in May of the previous year was still valid and there were no changes.
The answer was positive. When he communicated by letter to the Parisian club eight months ago that he was renouncing to exercise the optional third season in his contract, he had already made a firm decision: his destination would be Real Madrid.
And agreement in February.
In that call in early January, José Ángel Sánchez, the person who has carried out the negotiation on behalf of the white club, urged them to resume negotiations no later than early February.
Wary after the snub of 2022, they did not want to delay the conversations any longer with the aim of closing and signing the contract as soon as possible. Mbappé was conveyed an important idea: Madrid was interested in his signing, but it was no longer a matter of urgency or a signing they wanted to achieve at any cost, as it was a year and a half earlier.
That’s why they asked for concreteness and clarity in the negotiations. If the operation could be carried out, perfect; if not, there were no problems. With Bellingham and Vinicius confirmed and already established among the best players on the planet, Madrid had no urgency. But they wanted to know soon if they could count on Mbappé or not to plan for the next season.
Adapt to the club’s benchmarks.
Based on the agreement reached by both parties in May 2022, the negotiation has been relatively straightforward, although there have been some points of disagreement, mainly in the section regarding image rights.
Real Madrid has managed to lower those conditions, following Florentino’s instructions that it was essential condition to close the deal that the player’s salary did not blow up the white club’s salary scale.
Both the president and the general director know that this issue can generate comparative grievances in the dressing room with other figures and do not want to alter the ecosystem and the excellent atmosphere that reigns among all the players.
That is why they conveyed to Fayza Lamari, the player’s mother, and his lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, that Kylian’s annual salary should be adjusted to the club’s benchmarks.
The salary scale.
After adjusting some concepts, the French forward will arrive as the highest paid in the squad, considering his unofficial status as the best player in the world, but with a salary not too far from the highest-earning players in the squad, who are Kroos, Modric, and Alaba.
Sources close to the negotiation place it in a growing scale ranging from 15 to 20 million net annually plus bonuses for objectives during the five years of the contract, following the contractual relationship modality that Madrid usually offers to its players in recent times, but this aspect has not been confirmed by MARCA. In the agreement reached in 2022 by both parties and which was only pending the player’s signature, his fee was an average of 26 million net. During the last two seasons at PSG after his renewal, Mbappé has earned 32 million net (72 gross).
Reduced signing bonus.
To that amount must be added the signing bonus that the player receives for arriving free of contract, as compensation for not having to pay a transfer fee. At this point, it is worth remembering that during the last week of August 2021, when he had one season left on his contract, Real Madrid offered PSG a first offer of 160 million and a few days later a second offer of 180. The Parisian club did not even respond, which meant that both entities broke off relations.
In the firm agreement between Mbappé and Madrid in 2022, they agreed on a signing bonus of 130 million, which has also been slightly reduced. So, for all concepts, and once the amount of this signing bonus is prorated, the French star’s remuneration would not exceed 50 million net. A figure that is half of what he has earned at PSG this season: 212 million gross, including salary (72), renewal bonus (60), and loyalty bonus (80).
Image and sponsorships.
In Mbappé’s environment, they have ended up accepting this reduction in economic conditions because they were aware that only in this way could the striker’s dream of playing for Real Madrid be fulfilled. And the player was determined to prioritize this time the sporting aspect over the salary section.
But they have also managed the recent phenomenon of Jude Bellingham and the revaluation in his quotation as a first-rate world footballer during the scarce eight months that he has been wearing the white shirt. With more prestige and a better image, there are greater sponsorship agreements.
No one better than Delphine Verheyden, his lawyer specialized in issues related to image rights that all members of the Mbappé clan consider so important, to assess the boost that this can mean for her represented. If Kylian is already considered the best footballer in the world, succeeding with Real Madrid and winning the titles that at 25 years old still elude him both at the club level (the Champions League).