Few hours to go World Cup semifinal between France and Moroccowhich will be staged tonight at 20, Italian time.
A historic appointment, above all because nno African country had ever reached the final four in the top international football competition. But that is not all; it is not just the classic confrontation “David against Goliath”, but also a challenge with demographic, political and economic significance, also in light of the history that binds the two countries. Just think that more than 700,000 Moroccans live in France and many French people of Moroccan descent hold dual citizenship.
In turn, France in Morocco has 53,900 citizens, representing the eighth largest French community abroad, of which 51% are dual nationals.
Hakimi the most quoted of Morocco
Analyzing the two football teams more specifically from the point of view of the value of the squad, an abysmal disparity emerges. According to the Transfermarkt website, the squad of the Moroccan selection has an overall market valuation of 241.1 million euros, against the 997.5 million of the transalpines.
Morocco’s top five players for market value they are: the outside of PSG Achraf Hakimi (65 million)Bayern Munich full-back Noussair Mazraoui (€25m), West Ham central Nayef Aguerd (€25m), Chelsea attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech (€17m) and Sevilla goalkeeper Bono (€15m).
The sum of the valuations of these five players totals 147 million, less than the market value of France’s first-placed player: the PSG phenomenon Kylian Mbappe (160 million). Behind him, Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni (80 million), Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman (60 million), Barcelona full-back Ousmane Dembelé (60 million) and Blaugrana centre-back Jules Koundè (60 millions).
For the French Mbappé a contract worth 630 million in 3 years
The gap appears even wider when we take it into consideration salary of Kylian Mbappe, covered in gold by the sheikhs of PSG. In fact, the contract that binds the player to Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s team provides for a salary fixed income of 72 million gross per yearor 6 million euros per month (2.7 million after taxes).
Added to this are two bonuses, not related to performance: a gross bonus of 180 million upon signingto be paid in 3 installments to the player, and an increasing amount paid to Mbappé at the end of each summer transfer market session, in order to remain in the French capital: 70 million gross in 2023, 80 million in 2024 and 90 million in three years. And total agreement of 630 million gross between now and 2025.
To make a comparison, just think that his teammate at PSG, the Moroccan Judgethe player who boasts the highest market valuation of the North African national team, perceives “only” 14.55 million gross per year, about 8 million net.
All we have to do is wait tonight to see if the field will smooth out the economic disparities between the two roses or if the overwhelming French power in numbers will be enough to guarantee the transalpines access to the World Cup final in Qatar, against Leo Messi’s Argentina.