“A rain of millions”, Mbappé should keep 80% of his image rights at Real Madrid

Although certain, the departure of Kylian Mbappé from PSG has not yet been formalized by the club, nor has the signing of a contract with Real Madrid. But behind the scenes, negotiations are progressing between the player and the Merengue. The Spanish media, including El Chiringuito and AS, explained this Thursday that the question of image rights is the latest obstacle to ratifying the striker's arrival in Spain. A central subject.

Our colleagues argue that contrary to the tradition within Real Madrid of sharing image rights 50-50 between the club and the player, Kylian Mbappé could keep 80% of his own and leave only 20% to his new team. A real financial issue, “a rain of millions” even according to AS. Forbes magazine estimates that the captain of the Blues generates around 20 million euros per year in advertising. The figure could increase after arriving in Spain.

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This effort made by the club on image rights helps to boost the remuneration of their new striker, whose salary, indexed on an internal scale, would not exceed 15 million euros net annually. Added to this is a high signing bonus (an amount of 100 to 150 million euros is mentioned) as well as other advantages and various clauses. The Frenchman would not be the first Madrid player to “break” the 50-50 rule for the distribution of image rights established by President Florentino Pérez. The five-time Ballon d’Or Cristiano Ronaldo, upon his arrival in Madrid in 2009, would also have kept most of it.

The issue of image rights has been scrutinized for a long time by the Mbappé clan. In September 2022, he changed the French Football Federation by obtaining an overhaul of the agreement linking international players to the Federation concerning sponsorship and the exploitation of their image. Mbappé was reluctant to serve the interests of certain partners of the Blues such as Coca-Cola, the KFC chain or the Betclic betting site. He had won his case in selection.

At PSG, the star lost his temper in April 2023 after the broadcast of a promotional video for the subscription campaign. “I do not agree with this published video. This is why I fight for individual image rights. PSG is a big club and a big family but above all it is not Kylian Saint-Germain,” he wrote on social networks. The video was suspended by the club. The arrival of Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid is not yet official, but everything is falling into place. If the two parties find a quick agreement on image rights, and they will, the arrival of the captain of the Blues will be effective. Before formalization by the end of the season.