If the announcement of Kylian Mbappé’s departure from Paris Saint-Germain broke the hearts of many fans of the Parisian club, this news will also prove costly for PSG. By letting its best element leave – probably to Real Madrid, the capital club loses both the income that the star generated, but also gains in terms of performance and valorization of the team.
With notably five championship titles, three French Cups and a Champions League final to his name, Kylian Mbappé “was a central figure in the club’s sporting success”, raises Circle Strategy, a consultancy firm behind of a study on the subject unveiled this Tuesday, February 27. So much so that in the absence of the player, the study anticipates a notable decrease in PSG’s domination, which translates into a loss of on average 8 points per season.
Thus, in detail, a PSG match with Kylian Mbappé in the team brings 2.31 points on average, compared to 2.03 points without the player. In addition to the sporting loss, the footballer’s departure is far from being a good investment for his former club. His contract with PSG was seven times the amount of that of an average Ligue 1 player, according to the study’s data.
And above all, such a contract brings much more to the team. 38 million euros were thus earned by PSG between the player’s arrival in 2017 and his departure in 2024. In comparison, for an average player over the same period, this figure stands at 18 million euros.
“Parisian ambassador” on social networks
“His mega-contract with PSG was very profitable, with nearly 40 million euros of net value creation,” said the managing director of Circle Strategy, Jean-Marc Liduena, in a press release. Between 2017 and 2023, the club’s revenues jumped by no less than 175% and the club’s valuation increased from 841 million to 4,210 million euros.
A large part of this increase is explained by TV broadcasting rights, which generated 80 million euros in revenue for the Champions League. Since the arrival of Kylian Mbappé at PSG, sales of jerseys have also jumped by 40%, and those of tickets at the Parc des Princes, by 67%.
In addition to his contributions on the ground, there are his exploits on social networks. With his 112 million subscribers on Instagram, the footballer is followed by almost twice as many people as his club (which has some 65 million subscribers). The trend is generally the opposite for other athletes, like the Brazilian player Vinicius, playing for Real Madrid, who has 44 million subscribers while his club has 153 million.
The departure of Kylian Mbappé to our Spanish neighbors is also a loss for France, while the player’s contracts have generated nearly 100 million euros in taxes per year in recent years. A true “Parisian ambassador”, according to the authors of the study, the presence of the athlete at PSG had also aroused particular interest in the capital, with a peak of 78% in Google searches during Champions League matches.