Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar stands to receive a whopping figure from his Nike sponsorship deal should he scoop the Ballon d’Or, according to documents obtained and published by UOL Esporte.
The 26-year-old attacker, who made a world-record move from Barcelona to PSG for €222 million last August, receives a net salary of around €40m per year but adds to that annually thanks to a lucrative contract with the sportswear company.
Neymar signed the deal in 2011, with the agreement put in place stretching through until 2022, although Nike can take out an option to extend it for two further years.
Just how much extra Neymar receives depends on his performance on the field – and the club he is at. The deal divides teams into four categories (A, B, C, D) depending on their standing in the game. Although these have been subject to review, when the deal was signed in 2011, the category ‘A’ clubs were Chelsea, Milan, Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus, Bayern, Inter, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
That, however, was just as QSI’s investment in PSG was beginning, and while it is unclear which band the Ligue 1 leaders currently falls into, the strength of their marketing power may well have them among the elite now.
A category B club, meanwhile, is a team that has qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League in three of the previous five seasons – a requirement that PSG will match even if they exit the competition against Real Madrid on Tuesday after losing 3-1 in the first leg.
Neymar, of course, will not be able to help his side in that fixture, having suffered a broken bone in his foot that could keep him sidelined for the remainder of the Ligue 1 season .
The injury was described by Brazil fitness coach Fabio Mahseredjian as potentially a “good thing” for the country’s World Cup aspirations in the summer, and should Neymar lift that trophy, he will earn $50,000. Should he be named the best player or finish as top scorer at Russia 2018, however, he will pocket $200,000.
The real money, however, is in winning the Ballon d’Or. Should Neymar pick up the individual prize one, he will receive a $1m bonus, but on the second occasion he wins it, that bonus will double. Indeed, Nike has agreed that the prime on the attacker scooping that prize should go up by $1m for each time he wins it, until the fourth occasion. Thereafter, he will be awarded $4m for each subsequent success.
Playing with Brazil, however, is an essential requirement of the deal. Should he play over 70 per cent of the national team’s matches, he will receive the bonuses in full, but between 30-70% his remuneration would be cut to 70%. If he were to play in less than 30% of Brazil’s matches in a year, he would receive only 30%.