Now that the summer transfer window is completed, AC Milan’s wage bill heading into the 2022-23 campaign can be assessed with the squad locked in place until January.
Calcio e Finanza reports how Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessio Romagnoli are now no longer present at the top of the list with Divock Origi and Theo Hernandez the new leaders at €4m net per season.
The total for net salaries is €54m which is up from €51.5m in 2021-22 and that translate into gross salaries of €78.9m, down compared to the €80.2m gross from the previous season, mainly due to the greater number of players who enjoy the tax relief scheme the Growth Decree.
Sergino Dest is the third highest earner at €3.8m with three other players all on €3.5m: Olivier Giroud, Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori. Alessandro Florenzi earns €3m net per year, Mike Maignan gets €2.8m, Tiemoue Bakayoko is at €2.5m and new addition Charles De Ketelaere get €2.2m.
In terms of exits, former captain Alessio Romagnoli received €5.5m net per season and he has gone to Lazio, while midfielder Franck Kessie earned €2.2m net per year and moved to Barcelona.
| PLAYER | NET | GROSS |
| Origi* | 4 | 5.24 |
| Theo Hernandez* | 4 | 5.24 |
| Dest* | 3.8 | 4.98 |
| Giroud* | 3.5 | 4.59 |
| Rebic* | 3.5 | 4.59 |
| Tomori* | 3.5 | 4.59 |
| Florenzi | 3 | 5.55 |
| Maignan* | 2.8 | 3.67 |
| Bakayoko | 2.5 | 4.63 |
| De Ketelaere* | 2.2 | 2.88 |
| Calabria | 2 | 3.7 |
| Bennacer | 1.5 | 2.78 |
| Ibrahimovic* | 1.5 | 1.97 |
| Kjaer* | 1.5 | 1.97 |
| Vranckx* | 1.5 | 1.97 |
| Leao* | 1.4 | 1.83 |
| Tatarusanu* | 1.2 | 1.57 |
| Tonali | 1.2 | 2.22 |
| Krunic | 1.1 | 2.04 |
| Ballo-Tourè* | 1 | 1.31 |
| Messias | 1 | 1.85 |
| Pobega | 1 | 1.85 |
| Saelemaekers* | 1 | 1.31 |
| Adli* | 0.8 | 1.048 |
| Gabbia | 0.8 | 1.48 |
| Thiaw* | 0.8 | 1.048 |
| Mirante | 0.7 | 1.295 |
| Kalulu* | 0.6 | 0.79 |
| Brahim Diaz* | 0.5 | 0.66 |
| Lazetic* | 0.25 | 0.3275 |
| TOTAL | 54.15 | 78.93 |
| *Growth Decree applies |
Wow Florenzi was a bad deal last year he is even worse deal this year. He costs Milan the most and he is a player that is always injured. Last year he had 2 surgeries, this year he is already out for half of the season. And Maldini gave him 3 year contract till 2025. He is the new Biglia , Bertolacci , Montolivo. Players that were sitting on the bench or the stands collecting money until their contract expires.
Florenzi making 50% more than the captain and the man he backs up is disrespectful
I like Florenzi and really don’t mind the salary, he has the grita and with a sense of belonging to Milan.
also I like how we muscle and size up our squad with young, physical, fast and talented players.
Good things will come.
Kind of hard to show Grinta from the recovery room. He has been constantly injured since he tore his ACL 4,5 years ago. That’s why Roma got rid of him.
If Milan wanted someone that can’t play with a lot of Grinta they could just give those money to Gattuso to be teams motivator
Also does he have a higher sense of belonging to Milan than Calabria who has been at Milan for probably 20 years
Florenzi is more useful on the bench. He’s a team player and knows how to motivate others. A natural leader. And a decent RB too.
So Milan spends the most money in the squad, not for an actual player, but for a motivator .
He isn’t available half that time even for the bench
So salamankers and messias takes 1m and we all want them to play like Messi, I take back everything I said about them.
So a backup RB is taking 3.8m salary while an injured backup CF is taking 4m but Sanchez is Damnnnnnnnn greedy for asking 4m/4.5m right?
Looking at this team now makes me appreciate pioli more, that dude is doing wonders, to use this squad and do what he does is simply amazing.
Thiaw and vrancxx looks very average at best, I hope a miracle happens and we see something beautiful from atleast one of them, else it becomes another failed trial
You are right, we should have signed Sanches at 4.5 mil so all of our highest paid players can watch the games together from the recovery room
Donnarumma ask for 12m and come down to 10 Milan offer 8m he did not accept nr reject it but with no reply that y we move on
Our recovery room is not as good as P$G, Sanches reject it.
Dude from what source you get that renato 4,5m euro nett. In PSG renato get 6m euro nett confirmed by romano . You want to give highest salary wage AC Milan to renato 6m euro ? He is unproven in big club ,fail at bayern muenchen , often injury too, PSG are stupid to pay bench player like him 6m euro nett. He is enjoy his big money in PSG while sitting nicely on bench
Dude, PSG is not stupid, PSG is rich as F.
Dude! It’s Sanchez that wanted to go to PSG.. We agreed a deal with Lille!
Please stop overhyping him, as if he is of Modric or Kroos caliber!
If he was of Modric caliber, then he would’ve already been playing for a top club.. Why none of top clubs were interested in signing him before?
Honestly Pioli is doing a great job with these players, I love this publication so those that expect a magic from saelemaeker and Messias will have a rethink.
This is crazy. I wonder if it generates locker room discord. Useless Bakayoko makes more than 4 out of our 7 best players (less than Maignan, Tomori, and Theo but more than Leão, Tonali, Bennacer and Kalulu). Kalulu at 0.6 M is grossly unfair and below recent arrivals Adli and Thiaw. Recent arrival Origi as top salary is mind-boggling. This unproven quantity makes more than a FIFA Word Cup champion and second-highest goal-scorer all-time for his country (Giroud). Recent arrival Dest in third place. Well, seems like some agents are definitely better than some others, but I hope these huge disparities that are not commensurate to talent and usefulness won’t ruin the harmonious relationships between our players.
Since Dest is only on loan, Milan is required to pay the salary from his Barcelona contract .
Kalulu & Tonali will get a big raise probably in the next few weeks, if not days. Same goes for Isma. Leao will have to come back to reality & ask for money that he actually deserves.
Giroud and Origi are getting paid based on what they will do not what they’ve done. Age is a factor as well.
For me the only issues are Bakayoko ( won’t even play) &
Florenzi ( a back up who is defensive liability and has constant injury problems)
I don’t think you got the point of what I was saying. You are right about the REASONS for some the disparity, but what I’m getting at, is if this disparity, whatever the reasons (regardless of them being what you said about unavoidable clauses in loans etc.), will cause locker room and front office headaches, when a player will say “how come the useless bum Bakayoko makes x times more than I make, and I actually contribute???” And some of these are players actually acquired by Milan days ago, making more than proven assets. As for Origi being paid for what he will do as opposed to Giroud for what he has done, I hope you are right but for me Origi is unproven and a back-up in his previous club. Giroud doesn’t always play well but when he does his contributions are phenomenal. Remember that Derby he won for us? I also think that the main reason Giroud doesn’t get great performances every game is that he is too smart and his companions at times don’t understand what he is trying to do and don’t serve him. I am hopeful that CDK who is also very smart will change that. If we get a good chemistry CDK-Giroud we’ll have more goals. Just based on potential which is your argument, I don’t see why Origi should be the top salary and CDK only the 10th one.
I get it.
But Bakayoko and Florenzi were making the same money last year. So if there was going to be any uproar from the other players it would have already happened.
Origi has played and scored in a UCL final. Scored 2 goals vs Barca in semi final where Liverpool won 4-0 without Salah .
CDK hasn’t done anything yet.
Why would CDK make more?
Milan brought Origi in to be the starter, and Giroud his back up.
If Origi wanted to be a back up he would have stayed at Liverpool and probably make more money . He is just coming back from an injury
You say he is unproven. Was Tomori proven when he came in, how about Tammy Abraham? Was a bench player at Chelsea and now he is one of the best strikers in Italy.
There is a huge quality disparity between EPL and Serie A. Bench players in EPL look like great players in Italy. Just look at Lukaku
Some of the players like Kalulu, Tonali, Benacer, Leao and even Calabria should get a raise ASAP
OK, now I understand better what you’re saying and I concede the point. You are right and my concern is unsubstantiated. Well done, I liked to hear your opinion on this and it has eased my concern. We do have a great group of very professional players who have embraced our project and love the club. Forza Milan! But yes, some of our greatest guys need a raise ASAP or else they’ll be poached by richer teams. It does seem like RedBird will increase our salary ceiling. I read in one of the sites, I think milannews.it, a declaration by a RedBird representative that is very important and I haven’t seen anybody commenting on it. RedBird literally said “we will give more resources to Maldini and Massara.” They said their project is to make of Milan a top EUROPEAN club as well, not just a top Italian club. This bodes very well for the January transfer window. I think we’ll then be able to solve the RW problem, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to keep some or most of our essential players. OK, your faith in Origi is contagious, now I feel better about his signing. Let’s hope he will indeed fulfill all this potential. You are right, Tomori game from the EPL and became a HUGE asset for us. Hopefully Origi will be the same. I do have high hopes for CDK as well. Sure, unproven, but just watching him play is a pleasure. Unlike Brahim, he doesn’t fall to the ground when challenged, keeps going, and creates scoring opportunities. Seems to be very aware of tactics and be very soccer-intelligent. I do expect great things from him and it is not for nothing that M&M made a point of spending 35 million Euros to get him!
“if this disparity, whatever the reasons, will cause locker room and front office headaches, when a player will say “how come the useless bum Bakayoko makes x times more than I make, and I actually contribute???”
This is the 4th year with Pioli as a coach but so far no drama in Milan locker room outside Snake kebab didn’t accept he got preached by Ibra. Everyone is united and wants to achieve the same goal.
““if this disparity, whatever the reasons, will cause locker room and front office headaches, when a player will say “how come the useless bum Bakayoko makes x times more than I make, and I actually contribute???”
This is the 4th year with Pioli as a coach but so far no drama in Milan locker room outside Snake kebab didn’t accept he got preached by Ibra. Everyone is united and wants to achieve the same goal.”
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Plus if a player though like that then issue would be the player himself. It would mean he’s not a team player and not cut out for profession of a football player.
The only player I can think of who could be an issue for others having better salary is C.Ronaldo.
Excellent point, and this is one of the main reasons why we won the Scudetto last season even though on paper Inter seemed to be more qualified: team spirit! Our guys love Milan and did work together in a very harmonious and professional way. We’re a very young squad but with some older guys who can guide the youngsters, like Ibra, Giroud, Kjaer, and of course Pioli, Maldini and Massara.
This is why the presence of Maldini and Ibra are very important.
We need to get rid bakayoko & ballo toure in next transfer window. Florenzi can stay till his contract expire 2025 but dont renew him due to age , he is still useful now in dressing room as motivator & have grinta . Our starter player need pay rise like leao,bennacer,tonali,kalulu. It would be bad if leao & bennacer go free transfer in 2024
We can get rid of Bakayoko at winter window, but Ballo-Toure can stay at least until next summer window.
“We can get rid of Bakayoko at winter window”
Not if he refuses to leave. Which seems to be the case.
I was rooting so much for Bakayoko to leave! He seemed to want it, and last minute he decided to stay. Why not, for him? He makes a ton of money basically to be in a prolonged vacation! It’s terrible for us! I don’t like Ballo either. Both these players make more mistakes than contributions when they play. Thankfully we got rid of Castillejo, a very technically limited player. Poor Saelemaekers is a nice kid and tries so hard, but he is also limited and a better defender than a right winger. Often he plays very poorly. On occasion he contributes, if coming late as a sub to conserve a winning score and help the defense. So he’s not 100% useless, but still… Messias is also very limited, with a quality ceiling. He can do well against bad defenses but completely disappears against good defenses and can’t dribble and cross from the right, always trying to drop to the middle and losing the ball; passes poorly. Wastes many offenses. The disparity between LW with Leão and Theo helping when he comes up, and the RW with Saelemaekers and Messias alternating as starter/sub, even when Calabria comes to help, is HUGE, making it easy for opponents to double-mark our left side and not worry about our right side, which is why sometimes it is so hard for us to score. Messias is not 100% useless either. He has the occasional drop to center and hard shot that sometimes results in scores. But most of the time he wastes an attack. The balance is negative. One of the few things I dislike Pioli for, is that he doesn’t seem to be adventurous in trying to solve the RW problem. For example, Brahim is small and struggles against large and physical center backs, falling to the ground when challenged. However, Brahim often does better when he comes from the right against a less physical left back. Why not try Brahim as a right winger? Rebic can play right wing. Now the new arrivals, obviously Dest can play right wing. Adli has played right wing for 15% of his career. I’d like Pioli to START someone else as RW instead of either starting Messias or Saelemaekers and then subbing either Messias or Saelemaekers, always the two without some experimentation. Come on, Pioli, give some other guys a shot at the RW!!! Calabria is a decent right back so Dest could be more useful starting as RW than starting as RB or coming in for Calabria as a RB sub. In any case we need a true and high quality RW in the next transfer window so now experimentation or adaptation will be needed, but until then, we need to try some other guys in that position that is OBVIOUSLY our weakest spot. A dangerous RW would drastically improve our goal production and would throw out defenses’ attempts to thwart us, given that Leão would then have more space, and the trequartista and center forward would have more space, we’d get get more assists.
milan really is kind to barca.. letting them get kessie for free and pay full salary for dest.. smh
Kessie left as free agent. There wasn’t anything Milan could do given that he had already qualified as free agent. It’s not that we “let” them get Kessie for free. We could have renewed his contract, sure. But he and his agent didn’t really want it. As for Dest, I am hopeful that he will play RW and fix the right wing rather than RB. If he does that, then the money is well spent, given that the RW is our weakest spot, and it results in tying games we could have won.
Madrid got it too easy in the league so they can focus on UCL, their trophy count keep getting farther away from Milan. A little help for Barca to disturb them on the league won’t hurt.
Wow, I didn’t realise Origi would be one of the highest earners – I was a fan of his signing but accept it’s a bit of a gamble, but I didn’t realise how big a gamble it was.
And Florenzi being the highest paid in the squad (until next year when Theo doesn’t count for the growth decree)? I didn’t see that coming. The contract given to him really does look crazy now.
Oh man, did you guys ever have or read a contract? Contract is not just about Salary, there is a lot more inside contract, e.g attitude, act of profesionalism, termination, etc. It will not cause any disruption when you are in a contract. But for sure, it will cause disruption during contract extention. So dont worry about disruption this season, those players are professional, and also this is World cup year. Every players want to do best to make sure they are selected. Except ITALIAN players
I agree with a lot of comments partially. Kindly note that a lot of players earn good contract if they come free/cheap by either running down thr contract (no transfer money reqd) or being unwanted in thr previous team. We have certain players who are on higher contract for the same reason. In totality, M&M didn’t require to spend too much amount as transfer money. Now, to attract such players, one need to offer more salary else other clubs are also thr who are interested for the same players. I hope that you understand why certain players are earning more.