2024-05-11 22:47:53
On June 1, at Wembley Stadium, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will compete for the European throne in the Champions League final. The Spanish team, the greatest specialist in this tournament, will go out in search of their 15th “Orejona” (the last one was won in 2022), while the Germans will try to lift it for the second time in their history, after having done so in the season 1996/97.
Without a doubt, for Dortmund it is a historic opportunity to end a long drought in the Champions League. The confidence after eliminating the millionaire PSG from Kylian Mbappé In the semifinals he is through the roof. However, from an economic point of view, and at least in the short term, it will be more profitable for them to lose the final against Madrid than to win it.
How did Borussia get into this unusual situation? Due to a clause in the contract Jude Bellingham, which he sold to Real Madrid in the middle of last year for around 103 million euros. In said agreement, extra sums were stipulated that the German club had to receive in the event that some variables were met, such as the number of matches played as a starter, or if Madrid became champion of Spain, which finally happened. However, the biggest bonus included in the contract established that if Bellingham were crowned European champions with the “White House”, Dortmund would receive an additional 25 million euros.
This sum is higher than the 20 million euros that UEFA will pocket in the event of winning the final. However, in the event of losing the final, not only will they receive the extra 25 million euros from Madrid, but they will also pocket what corresponds to the Champions League runner-up, so the total figure in this case would be close to the 40 million euros.