Viktor Gyokeres has already cost Arsenal more than his initial transfer fee.
The Gunners signed the Sweden international from Sporting CP last summer in a huge deal worth an upfront £55 million.
That fee always looked significant, but the agreement Andrea Berta struck also included a number of add-ons based on appearances, goal contributions and Arsenal’s success as a team.
After Gyokeres helped fire Arsenal to the Premier League title in his debut season, Sporting are now due to receive a seven-figure bonus payment.
How do you RATE Viktor Gyokeres’ first season at Arsenal👀
Arsenal now owe Sporting CP money due to add-ons in Viktor Gyokeres’ contract
Viktor Gyokeres played a huge amount of football in his first season at Arsenal.
The striker made 55 appearances in all competitions, but not every one of those games counted towards the appearance-related add-ons in his contract.
According to Football London, for Sporting to receive a payment, Gyokeres had to play at least 45 minutes in an Arsenal match. He managed that on 44 occasions.
As part of the deal Berta agreed, Sporting are due around £1.08 million every time Gyokeres reaches 20 appearances of 45 minutes or more.
That threshold was triggered twice, meaning Arsenal now owe the Portuguese club roughly £2.16 million just from that clause.
There is more money heading Sporting’s way too.
Gyokeres finished the season with 21 goals and three assists in all competitions, which means he crossed the 20-goal contribution mark. That has triggered another payment worth around £430,000.
On top of that, Arsenal qualifying for next season’s Champions League has activated a further £860,000 bonus.
In total, Sporting are now set to bank around £3.45 million from Gyokeres’ first season at Arsenal.
Arsenal can only sign Julian Alvarez if one of Viktor Gyokeres or Kai Havertz leaves. Who would you sell?
Arsenal will not care about the money after Viktor Gyokeres won them the title
Sporting will be delighted with those add-ons, but Arsenal will not be complaining either.
When a transfer contains performance-related bonuses, the buying club only really pays them if the player or team has delivered. That is exactly what happened here.
Gyokeres scored 21 goals, helped Arsenal win the Premier League and played a huge role in taking Arteta’s side all the way to the Champions League final.
That is worth far more than a few million pounds in add-ons.
Berta may have agreed a deal that is now costing Arsenal extra money, but nobody at the club will regret it. Gyokeres has already helped deliver the trophy that the Gunners wanted most.
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