Ah, so that’s why he scored 28 goals in all competitions for Manchester United this season...
[ MORE: United unveil new away jersey ]
It has been revealed in a book to be published in Germany later this week (Football Leaks: The Dirty Business of Football, from Der Spiegel journalists Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger) that Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 35, has earned over $3.69 million in goal bonuses this season before he damaged his anterior cruciate ligament last month which ended his debut campaign at Old Trafford.
Ibrahimovic is reportedly on a goal bonus of up to $184,900 per goal, even though his basic salary of $24.5 million for this season was the biggest in Premier League history.
And his goal bonuses were structured in way which encouraged him to get to 20 goals. Here’s what he reportedly received.
- Goals 1-5 = $60,000 per goal
- Goals 6-10 = $102,100 per goal
- Goals 10-15 = 143,500 per goal
- Goals 16-20 = $184,900 per goal
- Goals 21-35 = $153,800 per goal
So, yeah, not only was Zlatan’s injury a loss of goals for United it was also a loss of serious earnings for the veteran Swede who would’ve played in at least nine more games had he not injured his ACL. The big question, for me at least, is why did the goal bonus total go down after he reached 20?
Anyway, with FIFA investigating Paul Pogba’s move to Manchester United and the $53 million fee agent Mino Raiola reportedly received, these latest revelations once again prove that Raiola may well be the best agent on the planet at negotiating these monster deals. The deals that he is negotiating with top clubs across the planet not only make his clients plenty of cash but him too.
As Ibrahimovic continues to recover from ACL surgery in the USA (his doctors apparently want to study his strength when he’s done playing, according to, you guessed it, Raiola) it is clear that wherever he ends up next season (once/if he recovers) the club will have to be willing to pay him the big bucks in all kinds of ways.
There’s no doubting Ibrahimovic’s goals (after all, it’s one thing to have a bonus in place, but another to reach those lofty targets) have helped United in their quest to win the UEFA Europa League, plus still be in with a chance of finishing in the top four after winning the EFL Cup trophy, but perhaps this news about his supposed bonuses explains his extreme “shoot on sight” policy in many games this season...
It would certainly be intriguing to see how many top strikers in the Premier League have hefty goal bonuses in their contracts. And if they weren’t, they certainly will be asking for a goal bonus now.