Kylian Mbappe Signs with Real Madrid, Accepts Pay Cut

 Kylian Mbappe Signs with Real Madrid, Accepts Pay Cut

Kylian Mbappe earned roughly $100 million a year pre-tax, including bonuses, with Paris Saint-Germain but will make much less with his move to La Liga.

Real Madrid confirmed the signing of French superstar Kylian Mbappe on Monday with a brief statement, adding one of the world's top soccer players to their newly crowned Champions League-winning squad.

“Real Madrid CF and Kylian Mbappé have reached an agreement whereby he will be a Real Madrid player for the next five seasons,” the club announced on its website.

This marks the third attempt by Real Madrid to sign Mbappe. The club initially tried to acquire him in 2017 when he left Monaco for Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee of €180 million ($196 million today), the second-highest fee ever for a soccer player. Mbappe nearly joined Madrid again in 2022 before re-signing with PSG.

Mbappe's five-year contract with Madrid is worth €15 million ($16.4 million) annually after taxes, according to the BBC and ESPN. The deal includes additional incentives based on performance and achievements, and he will also receive a €150 million ($164 million) signing bonus spread over the contract's duration.

Although Mbappe's PSG contract ran through the 2023-24 season with a player option for 2024-25, he did not exercise this option, allowing him to move to Madrid on a free transfer.

Joining Madrid means a pay cut for Mbappe, who was earning approximately $100 million a year pre-tax at PSG, including bonuses. Last summer, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal offered PSG €300 million ($327 million) for Mbappe and proposed a salary worth hundreds of millions annually, but he declined, eyeing a move to Madrid instead.

During his seven seasons with PSG in Ligue 1, Mbappe helped the club secure first place each year, led the league in goals for six consecutive years, and won the player of the year award five times. Internationally, he played a key role in France’s national team winning the 2018 World Cup, earning the tournament’s Best Young Player award, and won the Golden Boot in the 2022 World Cup, where France finished as runners-up to Argentina.

Despite PSG adding stars Lionel Messi and Neymar to win their first Champions League title, the trio's best result was a 2020 finals appearance. With Mbappe’s departure, PSG’s era of extravagant spending—resulting in a $400 million loss during the 2021-22 season—has come to an end.

On Saturday, Real Madrid secured its 15th Champions League title, more than double AC Milan's seven titles. Madrid ranks second in Sportico’s recent valuation of the world's most valuable soccer clubs at $6.06 billion, while PSG is seventh at $4.05 billion.