Over a billion pounds were invested in these 10 stars!
10. James Rodriguez – Porto to Monaco (€83.7m)
€45m Transfer Fee
€6m net annual salary will cost Monaco €34.2m after tax over the course of his five-year contract, while a signing-on fee of around €1.5m and agents’ fees amounting to approximately €3m bring the total cost of the deal to almost €84m.
List courtesy of Goal.com.
9. Gonzalo Higuain – Real Madrid to Napoli (€88.3m)
€37m Transfer Fee
Higuain’s five-year contract at the San Paolo could earn him as much as €6m per annum if he meets all of the bonus targets included in the negotiations, on which the club would pay as much as €16.8m in taxes. Add in a €1.5m signing-on fee and €3m in commission to agents.
8. Marquinhos – Roma to PSG (€94.8m)
€35m Transfer Fee
His €5m net wage is nothing to be sniffed at and he could well earn as much as €10m extra in bonuses in the next five years. The contract liability to the club could therefore be more than €55m, and with a €1.75m signing-on fee and €2.5m in agents’ commission, the figures are phenomenal considering the player’s lack of experience.
7. Marouane Fellaini – Everton to Manchester United (€97m)
Transfer Fee €32m
On top of the initial transfer fee, David Moyes’ side have committed to a five-year €7.74m net annual salary, at a cost of almost €58.8m after tax. The best part of €6m also left the Old Trafford coffers to pay agents’ fees and Fellaini’s signing-on bonus.
6. Mario Gotze – Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich (€114.2m)
Transfer Fee €37m
After meeting the 21-year-old’s exit clause with BVB, Bayern continued to state their intent with the chequebook. Gotze was signed to a €10m-a-year contract after tax, on which the club will pay around €20.2m in taxes over the four-year term of his initial deal.
And it doesn’t stop there. Gotze and his agent earned €7m in fees between them on agreeing the deal with Bayern, while the Germany international is set pick up €10m in variable bonuses between now and the summer of 2017.
5. Mesut Ozil – Real Madrid to Arsenal (€117.6m)
Transfer Fee €50m
Ozil’s fee only accounted for just over 40 per cent of the total cost of the operation. The German’s net salary for his five-year contract adds up to €40.5m, with the tax and payments on this salary increasing the outlay by another €21.06m.
When the signing-on fee of €2.03m and agents’ fees of €4.02m are brought into the equation, Arsenal will actually fork out €117.6m should Ozil stay at the Emirates until 2018.
4. Neymar – Santos to Barcelona (€124m)
Transfer Fee €57m
Barcelona handed Neymar a five-year contract with a net salary of €35m – this figure jumping to €52.98m after taxes and payments. The Brazilian collected a €1.75m signing-on fee while administration fees were €171,000.
Bonuses attached to the deal increase the costs for Barcelona, with a €2m add-on for a Ballon d’Or nomination, €4m for two friendly matches – one of which Barca immediately paid Santos to avoid, €4m for the purchase options on three Santos players and €2m in other costs.
3. Edinson Cavani – Napoli to PSG (€148.5m)
Transfer Fee €64.5m
His net salary of €10m a season will cost PSG €50m over the course of his five-year contract, with the Parisians forfeiting an extra €26.5m in taxes and statutory payments.
Cavani’s signing-on fee of €2.5m and agents’ fees of €5m mean that the total cost of his transfer from Napoli could reach €148.5m.
2. Radamel Falcao – Atletico Madrid to Monaco (€150.3m)
Transfer Fee €60m
With a net salary of €70m, divided over five years, Falcao will become a very rich man in Monaco – particularly due to the low tax rates in the principality, which allowed the club to offer him such a huge salary in the knowledge that only €9.8m extra would be expended on tax.
Commission to agents of €7m and a €3.5m signing-on fee for the striker take the total cost of the deal past the €150m mark.
1. Gareth Bale – Tottenham to Real Madrid (€198.8m)
Transfer Fee €100m
The 24-year-old’s net salary over the six years of his contract is €60m, with los Blancos having to shell out an extra €30.81m in taxes after the closure of the ‘Beckham Law’ loophole in Spain.
With Madrid also paying a signing-on fee of €3m and commission to agents of €5m, the total cost was only just shy of €200m. Despite this, Perez still described the deal as “cheap”, implying that the club would more than make their money back commercially.
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