La Liga new spending limits favor Real Madrid, Mbappe to take pay cut to join Real

Real Madrid will have a spending ceiling almost two and a half times higher than its nearest rival and over 10 times more than many of the clubs in Spain according to the information published by La Liga on Tuesday, which means signing French captain Kylian Mbappe would  likely not be a problem for the club, although he is reported to take a pay cut when he joins the Spanish club this summer.

The spending limits, which include wages for players and technical staff, is calculated by looking at income of clubs in Spain in comparison to their structural costs, and the need to repay outstanding debts and aims to assure the financial stability of the competition.

Real Madrid will be able to spend much more than anyone else: in 2024, the club will have a spending ceiling of 727 million euros ($786 million), almost two and a half times higher than Atletico Madrid, whose limit is 303 million euros, slightly higher than for 2023.

The 2018 World Cup winner told his current club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last week that he intends to leave the Ligue 1 leaders after seven years when his contract expires after June 30. According to the BBC, he is set to sign a five-year deal with Real, earning 15 million euros a season, plus a 150 million euro signing-on bonus to be paid over five years while he keeps a percentage of his image rights. With PSG, his salary costs the club about 200 million euros per year.

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona's financial struggles continue, with its ceiling dropping from 270 million euros down to 204 million euros due to its crippling debts of over 1 billion euros. This will further limit the club's options of signing and paying the wages of star players and it's hard to see how they will be able to improve a squad, that has shown itself to be inferior to Real Madrid.

Other clubs have much lower wage ceilings, with Villarreal allowed to spend 143 million euros, Sevilla 154 million euros and Real Sociedad, close to 145 million euros.

The numbers highlight the incredible job done by Girona, with the side who is currently second in La Liga, only allowed to spend 52 million euros, with only Cadiz, Alaves, Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Las Palmas below them in terms of spending limitations.

The vast difference between Real Madrid and the rest of the clubs in Spain will also raise questions over the competitiveness of La Liga, given the huge advantage Real Madrid will enjoy.

(With input from Xinhua)