Football Leaks: Cristiano Ronaldo’s £139,000 sticker payday, Firmino’s Arsenal ban, the Aguero bonus and Kevin De Bruyne’s wages: The confidential leaks which have rocked world football
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FOOTBALL LEAKS has kept the soccer world abreast of some of the game's previously closely guarded secrets.
The whistle-blowing outlet has a revealed a number of murky financial transactions and exposed the tax tricks employed by some of the Continent’s biggest stars.
The website opened in September 2015 and reveals transfer fee, wage and contract information about famous footballers.
Football Leaks have enjoyed a marvellous 2016...and here are some of the best revelations...
1 Cristiano Ronaldo - £139,000 for signing Panini stickers
That's how much Real Madrid's Portuguese maestro earns from Panini for his signatures appearance on the Panini cards, while Barcelona ace Neymar trousers - by comparison - a lowly £43,000.
Football Leaks revealed Portuguese hit staff with gagging order that carries 300,000 Euro fine.
Furthermore, And back in 2012 Ronaldo slapped employees with a gagging clause preventing them talking about him or his family for 70 years AFTER his death.
If they violate the clause, Ronaldo’s workers would be hit with a minimum £254,000 fine or five times what the Real Madrid superstar had paid them.
2 Memphis Depay’s Man United contract leaked
Depay will have to take a pay cut of over £1million if he stays at Manchester United next season.
The Holland international’s wage is £5.2m from July 2015 to June 2016 — but his pay will then be slashed to 3.9m-a-year.
But it is not all bad news for Depay — who cost United £25m last summer— as the amount of bonus payments could bump him up above his current wage.
3 Messi, Ronaldo, Bale or Pogba: None of them in same league as Ezequiel Lavezzi
Top earning footballer Ezequiel Lavezzi reportedly rakes in £100,000 a week MORE in China than Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo according to ‘Football Leaks’.It claims that Ezequiel Lavezzi – an international team-mate of Lionel Messi – is paid nearly twice as much as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and 25 per cent more than the £400,000 Ronaldo is said to be on.When Lavezzi signed for Chinese outfit Hebei Fortune the club included two furnished houses, two cars, a cook and a driver in his contract.
4 Tax fraud in football: Premier League clubs face points loss and Euro KO
The Football Leaks consortium claimed to have evidence that clubs around the world have made secret payments to players to get around tax or competition rules.Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil have all been accused of tax avoidance.
5 The "Kun" bonus that keeps paying
Atletico Madrid sold Sergio Aguero to Manchester City for £30.5million. In addition to the fixed transfer value, the variable terms mean that Atletico receives a further £210,000 for every 15 goals scored by the
Argentine and another £210,000 for every 25 games he plays.
Also, if City were to win the Premier League with Aguero in their ranks then he Spanish club receives £850,000 They've already banked £1.75m.
6 Roberto Firmino can leave for anyone EXCEPT Arsenal
Liverpool's Brazilian striker has an £82.6million release clause in his contract which any club BUT Arsenal can trigger.
Firmino would be able to leave Anfield if an offer of 98million Euros (£82.6m) comes in from any club ...except the Gunners.
Even if Arsenal submit an offer of “any higher amount” they will be rebuffed.
7 Real Madrid starlet Martin Odegaard is guaranteed a hotel room with the first team
The young attacking midfielder pockets £42,000 a game.
The teenager also has it written into his contract that he will be ‘guaranteed’ a room in the first-team hotel at Valdebedas.
8 Kevin De Bruyne is on just £115,000 a week
The Belgian midfielder is nowhere near being one of the top earners at the club, it was been claimed.
Sergio Aguero earns £220,000 along with Yaya Toure who was not even included in the clubs 25 man squad for the Champions League.
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Football Leaks reported the details of De Bruyne’s salary, although he does have major bonuses in his deal.
9 Integration of Thomas Vermaelen
The Belgian defender arrived at FC Barcelona with a payment boost of £850,000 per year.
The terms of this were to allow the coaching staff to use him in the team as they felt fit, pick him or not, and to represent the club for public appearances.
The ex-Gunner also accepted that he would "make the maximum effort to integrate into Catalan society and to learn Catalan".
10 'Anti-Sevillista' boots of Rafel van der Vaart
Real Betis deemed it necessary to stipulate in the contract that the Dutch midfielder could wear "any sport shoes as long as they were not red".
The colour red belongs to the club's rivals Sevilla FC.
In agreeing to this Van der Vaart was rewarded with 14 monthly payments of £97,000.
11 Lloris, £3,300 for a loss
Football Leaks reported that Tottenham's French goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris agreed bonus payements of £7,000 every time he started for the club and £8,000 for each victory. But, if the team was to draw or lose then he would lose £3,300.
12 Thiago debt management
When he left Milan for PSG in 2012, Thiago Silva made an agreement with the Parisian club that they would pay off the debts he had with the Italian Treasury. At the time the Brazilian had around £2million to be picked up.
13 Balotelli behaviour
In addition to the normal bonuses afforded to most strikers - goal scoring for example - Liverpool also offered Mario Balotelli a good behaviour clause...which was accepted.
The aim was to ensure that the Italian, known for his creative antics, portrayed an exemplary fashion on the field including, "not being sent off more than three times" and "not spitting on an opponent."
If Super Mario could abide by this he'd receive an extra million.
14 Advertising Daniel Agger
When Liverpool sold the popular defender back to Brondby for £3million in 2014, the agreement included was that the Danish club would have to hang a publicity poster for the company Kloagger (the group that represents the club) at each home game.