Kepa Arrizabalaga Among Highest Paid Goalkeepers in the World After Signing £70m Deal With Chelsea
Chelsea paid £71m (€80m) to sign goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as an urgent replacement for Thibaut Courtois this week, but the enormous outlay on the former Athletic Bilbao stopper will virtually double over the course of the huge seven-year contract he has been given.
The length of deal matches the one that Kepa was on at San Mames, but the £195,000 weekly wages reported by the Daily Mirror represent a bumper pay rise and will see him earn around £70m if he stays for the full course of the contract.
It means that the 23-year-old will be paid just over £10m each season and will be one of highest earning goalkeepers in the world, a status that befits the most expensive in history.
Kepa's £71m move to Stamford Bridge has seen him overtake Alisson Becker in those stakes, with the Brazilian completing a £67m move from Roma to Liverpool last month.
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Alisson broke the longstanding world record set when Gianlugi Buffon joined Juventus from Parma for the equivalent of €52m in the summer of 2001. His reign as the world's most expensive goalkeeper lasted 17 long years, but Alisson's was over after only 21 days.
