Why Mbappe had £1.3m ethics bonus in PSG contract

PSG were ordered to pay PSG 1.5 million euros (£1.3 million) in “ethics bonus” payments to the France forward after Mbappe’s legal victory raised some eyebrows.

An ethics bonus may seem odd to fans in the UK, but it is typical on a professional athlete’s contract in France.

The “ethics bonus” has previously made headlines, most recently when El Mundo’s Spanish newspaper revealed Neymar’s PSG contract.

The Brazil forward’s deal stipulated a monthly ethics payment of 541, 680 euros (£475, 876). For Mbappe the bonus was worth 500, 000 euros (£438, 000) a month.

Neymar had to display “courtesy, friendliness, and availability to supporters,” according to reports. Additionally, he was expected to “greet fans before and after each game.”

In English football, clubs can fine a player for a misdemeanor up to two weeks’ wages.

Any deductions from a worker’s salary are prohibited by French law. Therefore, sports teams receive a small ethics bonus. A player’s total salary is actually a player’s total salary, along with the base wage and the ethics bonus.

Some reports claimed Neymar received extra money for clapping the fans in 2021, but the details paint a different picture.

Neymar’s conduct was expected of him in front of the referees and sponsors. He was prevented from placing bets and had to arrive for training on time. It was essentially a moral example.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport that “clubs are very interested in protecting their reputation.”

They include provisions for “good behavior” in their agreement that prohibit anyone from criticizing the club.

We observed people who had moral obligations to sponsors like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Therefore, behavior-related clauses are frequently used in sports.

After being found to be driving while under the influence, Marco Verratti’s ethics bonus was withheld in 2018.

Hatem Ben Arfa also lost the bonus because he didn’t make the Qatari mid-season training camp for PSG.

Lionel Messi was imprisoned by PSG for a trip to Saudi Arabia that was not authorized in 2023.

A player’s contract now includes a lot of bonuses. They cover image rights and goal bonuses as well as loyalty checks that are made annually on the anniversary of a player joining a club.

According to Maguire, “The contract that used to be written on the back of a napkin is now being invested by a number of stakeholders.”

You have the club, the agent, the management company, the player, and so on. and frequently the player’s intellectual property company as well.

“I’ve seen some of the big six contracts, where Champions League participation is up 25%,” says one analyst.