Köln offered more than Bayern: Matthäus reveals his player wages | OneFootball

From 100 Marks a month to a million-dollar salary at Inter Milan: In the book "Transfer-Insider" by BILD football chief Christian Falk, record national player Lothar Matthäus provides extraordinary insights into his career – and reveals what he earned at Bayern, Gladbach, or in Milan.

Matthäus describes the beginning of his career modestly. In 1978 at 1. FC Herzogenaurach, he received only 100 Marks a month plus bonuses. A year later, he moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach – along with his first professional contract. There, he earned 2,500 Marks monthly, and with bonuses, he could make around 100,000 Marks per year.

Matthäus was on the radar of international clubs early on. Juventus Turin offered him an unbelievable salary as early as 1981: twenty times what he made in Gladbach, equivalent to a million Marks net. Matthäus declined – and instead extended his contract on the Lower Rhine.

Move to Munich – with curious offers

Photo: IMAGO

In 1984, Matthäus moved to FC Bayern. There, his salary increased to nearly 500,000 Marks annually. The Munich club paid 2.4 million Marks in transfer fees. Interesting: His then-coach Jupp Heynckes wanted to keep him at all costs and offered to give up 100,000 Marks of his own salary to improve the contract – an offer Matthäus understood as a sign of appreciation.

Not only German clubs were vying for him. SSC Napoli also wanted to sign Matthäus – and appeared with a suitcase full of cash in a Munich restaurant. "A million Marks in cash," Matthäus recalls. Yet he resisted the temptation and stayed with FCB.

Inter Milan and the shattered Real dream

In 1988, the midfield director finally moved to Inter Milan. There, he earned around a million Marks net per year – a top salary for the time. Real Madrid later desperately wanted to sign Matthäus and offered 18 million Marks in transfer fees. But Inter President Ernesto Pellegrini blocked the move. Instead, he quickly increased Matthäus’ salary by 500,000 Marks – exactly the difference he would have earned more in Madrid.

In 1992, Matthäus returned to Munich. For his return, he even accepted pay cuts. He earned 1.2 million Marks annually at the German record champion in the following years – less than in Italy, but for him, the right step.

His last stop was the New York MetroStars in the MLS. In 2000, Matthäus earned nearly a million dollars net for one season there.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.