REVEALED: Football Leaks Report Publishes Huge Bonuses for PL Stars Including Salah & Aubameyang
Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk as well as Manchester United's Alexis Sánchez and Arsenal newbies Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, are just a small selection of players who have had bonuses from their current contracts leaked online.
The information was obtained by German newspaper Der Spiegel and it was published in a book titled 'Football Leaks: Uncovering The Dirty Deals Behind The Beautiful Game'. The information has since been published by the Daily Mail.
It is claimed that the PFA Player of the Year Salah has cost Liverpool £2.5m in bonuses for his goalscoring exploits this season. The Reds included a clause to shell out the amount should Salah register 35 goals and assists in 2017/18 - an amount he reached by March.
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Liverpool have also included a complex clean sheet bonus for Van Dijk that could set the club back up to £750k next season.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's Armenian talisman Mkhitaryan will have his wages doubled if he puts pen to paper on a new deal in north London, which would see the 29-year-old pocket over £280k a week.
Fellow January signing Aubameyang is set to receive a £15m 'loyalty' bonus before his contract at the Emirates expires. He is will also be due £300,000 for 25 goals and assists in a season and £50,000 for every Premier League win, in which he starts.
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Most bizarrely is that Aubameyang will apparently also receive a 'Champions League bonus' of over £2m - despite the notable fact that Arsenal have failed to qualify for Europe's top competition again this season.
Chelsea and Manchester United were fighting between themselves last summer over the signings of Álvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku, and both strikers have equally complicated bonus systems in their current deals.
Morata's appearance against Huddersfield on Wednesday has seen the Spaniard receive £830k in an appearances bonus, but the former Real Madrid star would need to score 10 goals this weekend to pocket another £880k.
Manchester United will be set back £5m, which will be paid to Everton, if Belgium international Lukaku renews his contract at Old Trafford.
And if 24-year-old scores more than 23 goals over four seasons - a tally he has already reached this year - the Red Devils will have to fork out £10m in bonuses.
United have also splashed the cash to ensure January signing Alexis moved to the red half of Manchester amidst interest from Pep Guardiola's City. The Chilean will earn £1.1m in annual bonuses throughout his contract, as well as £75k for every match he starts for the club.
Alexis will also earn hefty bonuses if Manchester United win the Champions League or the Premier League, which have been revealed to be £1m and £500k respectively.
