Chapter 569: Prince Jassim's Sincerity
The staff at Manchester United have been having a great time recently. The team has been performing exceptionally well, and the club's executives are all smiles. When the bosses are in a good mood, the employees' lives are naturally better.
Prince Jassim is naturally delighted. Manchester United's performance is stellar, with the team still unbeaten in all competitions. They are on the verge of winning the league, have one foot in the Champions League final, have already won the League Cup, and have reached the FA Cup final. There is a good chance Manchester United could achieve a massive "quadruple" this season!
"I remember Bruno's salary is still based on the contract from two years ago, right?" Prince Jassim asked Manchester United CEO Cristiano Giaretta.
"Yes, it's £300,000 a week," Giaretta nodded. "Last summer, I wanted to renegotiate his contract, but Bruno refused, so we continued with the existing agreement."
"Let's give him a raise," Prince Jassim said. "Although Bruno's contract still has three years left, his performance over the past two years has been outstanding. We must proactively renew his contract to show our sincerity. Arrange a meeting with Mendes, and let's... By the way, who is the highest-paid player right now?"
"It's Barcelona's top star, Leo Messi. His new contract with Barcelona gives him an annual salary of €40 million," Giaretta replied promptly, well-acquainted with the salaries of the world's top footballers.
Hearing this, Prince Jassim fell silent, feeling a bit guilty towards Bruno.
Messi's annual salary is €40 million, while Bruno's is only £300,000 a week, which equates to €1.778 million annually — less than half of Messi's earnings.
After pondering for a while, Prince Jassim said, "Tell Mendes that Bruno's new contract will increase to £700,000 a week. Bruno is the best player in the world, and his salary should reflect that."
A weekly salary of £700,000 translates to an annual salary of £36.4 million, or €41.5 million, surpassing Messi's earnings.
"Understood, I'll discuss it with Mendes," Giaretta nodded, then left to fulfill the task.
Prince Jassim made himself a cup of coffee, feeling very pleased with himself.
He considered himself quite generous and believed he was treating Bruno very well.
Basking in the warm afternoon sun, Prince Jassim lounged back in his chair, daydreaming about the glorious achievements Manchester United would reach under his leadership. Overcoming Liverpool to become the number one club in England was just the start. The long-term goal was to surpass Real Madrid and become the number one club in the world.
Manchester United would become the finest asset, passed down through generations, and he would win the love of Manchester United fans worldwide.
Maybe once the new stadium was built, it could even be named after him. Jassim Stadium? That sounded amazing!
Bruno soon learned from Mendes about Manchester United's second contract renewal offer, which was very sincere. Prince Jassim offered him a world-record weekly salary of £700,000.
Bruno called Prince Jassim and said, "Jassim, isn't £700,000 a week too high?"
"I don't think so. You're worth it," Prince Jassim replied.
Bruno hesitated for a moment, then said, "But this will disrupt the team's wage structure..."
Prince Jassim was taken aback. When did players start considering the team's wage structure? Aren't they always trying to get the highest salary possible?
"That's not something you need to worry about. You just need to play well on the field and help José manage the dressing room," Prince Jassim said.
After chatting a bit more, they hung up.
"£700,000 a week? Jassim really is generous to you," Vanessa said, putting down her magazine.
Although Vanessa was now a billionaire and didn't lack money, she was still shocked to hear that Manchester United's owner had offered Bruno a contract worth over €40 million annually, the highest salary in the football world.
Remember, this was just his salary. The contract would also include a series of bonuses, such as championship bonuses and goal bonuses.
For instance, last season, Bruno helped Manchester United win the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League — a quadruple. He also won the Premier League Golden Boot, the Europa League Golden Boot, and the European Golden Shoe. The total bonuses almost equaled his salary.
These bonus clauses would undoubtedly be included in the new contract as well.
"Indeed, it's quite generous. I did the math; this surpasses Messi, Neymar, and Ronaldo's salaries, making it the highest in football," Bruno laughed. "As a friend, Jassim is quite the friend."
Vanessa smiled, "Then you should perform well and help the team achieve great results to repay him for being such a good friend and boss."
Previously, the highest annual salary in the football world belonged to Messi. Barcelona paid their star player a whopping €40 million annually.
Following Messi was Neymar. Paris Saint-Germain not only paid €220 million for his release clause but also gave him a €40 million signing bonus and an annual salary of €36 million.
In third place was Ronaldo, Real Madrid's top star, with an annual salary of €30 million.
Bruno's previous weekly salary of £300,000 translated to an annual salary of just €1.778 million, barely making it into the top ten globally. Ahead of him were players like Oscar with €24 million, Griezmann with €23 million, Özil with €23 million, Sánchez with €23 million, Lavezzi with €22 million, and Hulk with €20 million.
However, once Bruno renewed his contract, he would leap to the top with an annual salary of €41.5 million, becoming the highest-paid player in the football world.
While this salary is astronomical, Manchester United can afford it. The club's revenue is expected to reach €900 million this season.
Currently, Manchester United's first-team wage bill is around €180 million, just 20% of total revenue, which is very healthy.
This is because Manchester United doesn't have many players with astronomical salaries. Currently, only three players earn over £10 million annually: Bruno with £15.6 million, Harry Kane with £12 million, and Mbappé with £10 million.
This is already the highest in the Premier League, with the average first-team salary around £5 million.
Furthermore, if Manchester United continues to perform well this season, many players will renew their contracts in the summer, leading to inevitable salary increases and a significant rise in the total wage bill.
Bruno's salary alone would push the total wage bill up by over £20 million.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10