Real frees up nearly $100 million in salary costs

Real Madrid saved a large amount of salary and bonus funds when they all said goodbye to Marco Asensio, Mariano Diaz, Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema in the summer of 2023.

According to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo , Real will cut $82 million in wages by saying goodbye to these four stars on the attack line. Of which, Hazard has the highest salary with $32 million per season. Captain Benzema has a salary of $30 million per season, while Asensio and Diaz both pocket $10 million per season. Adding bonuses according to the additional terms in each player's contract, the amount of money Real will save after these four strikers leave is nearly $100 million.

Diaz, Hazard, Benzema and Asensio were announced to leave Real on June 3 and 4 respectively. Photo: ES

On June 3, Real announced that Asensio and Diaz would both leave the club when their contracts expire in June 2023, and reached an agreement to terminate Hazard's contract a year early.

Asensio joined Real from Mallorca in 2015 and scored 61 goals in 285 matches in all competitions. Diaz played for Real's youth team in 2011-2012, but could not compete for a place in the first team after being promoted to the first team in 2016. He moved to Lyon in 2017-2018, then was re-recruited by Real for a fee of about 25 million USD. In total, Diaz scored 12 goals in 84 matches for Real.

Hazard is the most disappointing name when his form has declined and he has been injured frequently since joining Real in the summer of 2019 for 136 million USD. The Belgian striker has missed 78 matches due to injury in the past four years, which is more than the number of matches he has played (76) and has only scored seven goals.

At noon on June 4, Madrid time, Real confirmed that they had terminated Benzema's contract a year ahead of schedule. In the summer of 2009, the French striker joined Real alongside stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso. He has scored 354 goals in 647 matches, and is among the record-breaking players to win five Champions Leagues. Benzema's peak was the 2021-2022 season, when he won the Ballon d'Or for the first time.

That same evening, Asensio, Diaz, Hazard and Benzema played their final match when Real drew 1-1 with Bilbao at the Bernabeu in the final round of La Liga. Benzema scored from the penalty spot to seal the deal. After the match, Asensio, Diaz, Hazard and Benzema were carried by their teammates to pay their respects.

Saying goodbye to four stars in attack, Real now only has two strikers, Vinicius and Rodrygo. After the draw with Bilbao, coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that he will recruit strikers when the transfer window opens.

According to British newspaper Sportmail , striker Harry Kane is Real's top target. But the royal team will have to pay at least 125 million USD in transfer fees even though the England captain only has one year left on his contract with Tottenham.

Meanwhile, transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano revealed that Real have opened negotiations with Chelsea about the possibility of recruiting Kai Havertz - who is highly regarded by Ancelotti because he can play well in many positions.

Hong Duy

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