Paris Saint-Germain players could each earn around €1 million if they beat Arsenal to retain the Champions League title in Budapest on Saturday, according to L’Equipe.
PSG face Arsenal at the Puskás Aréna as the holders bid to defend the trophy they won last season. Victory would make them only the second club in the Champions League era, after Real Madrid, to retain it.
The French champions lifted Europe’s biggest prize for the first time last season after years of knockout disappointments following Qatari investment, including a 2020 final defeat to Bayern Munich. Their run to the title featured wins over Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal before a 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final.
L’Equipe reports that PSG’s squad negotiated a bonus package worth roughly €1 million per player should they win. Separately, UEFA’s prize money hands the winners a final-stage payout of about €25 million.
Arsenal, fresh from a first Premier League title in 22 years, may also have to reckon with PSG’s relative freshness. Luis Enrique has rotated heavily this season: Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé made only 11 league starts, while Arsenal’s Declan Rice played far more, logging more than double Dembélé’s minutes across all competitions.
By one analysis, PSG’s likely starting eleven has played around 32,100 minutes this season, against roughly 37,700 for Arsenal’s, a gap equivalent to dozens of extra matches for Mikel Arteta’s side.
