L’Equipe have published their yearly feature on Ligue 1 players’ salaries in this Thursday’s issue. As expected, PSG players are, by a landslide, the biggest earners in the league with France’s skipper and free-scoring forward Kylian Mbappé (24) is far ahead following his bumper new contract signed last year.

Simply put, the Paris-born striker is the highest paid athlete in the world. According to L’Equipe, Mbappé is earning €6m per month. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In the wake of his new PSG deal set to expire in 2024, with an option to extend until 2025, Mbappé will receive a €60m signing fee as well as a €70m loyalty bonus this year. And that does not take into account the salary he earns through his personal sponsors, such as Nike, Oakley, Hublot, EA Sports or Dior.

In comparison with Mbappé, other key players from PSG sit on the podium of Ligue 1’s biggest earners. Neymar (31) is second with a €3.765m salary per month. Lionel Messi is third on a monthly €3.375m wages. Marquinhos and Marco Verratti follow on both €1.2m, while Achraf Hakimi is on just over €1m.

‘KYLIAN MBAPPE WANTED’: PUNDIT COMMENTS ON WEST HAM’S GIANLUCA SCAMACCA

Don Hutchison says West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca will be ‘back in Serie A’ in the summer after ‘flopping’ in the Premier League.

In the summer, the former midfielder lauded West Ham’s call to sign Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo, but he now admits that it has now gone very wrong.

But when Hutchison was trying to tell fellow pundit and Anfield legend Stevie Nicol that ‘everybody’ wanted the 24-year-old, he wasn’t having any of it.

It was even suggested that Kylian Mbappe of all people tried to get him at PSG, but he had ‘shook hands with David Moyes’ – it was also claimed last summer that Arsenal, along with PSG, were keen on the Italian.

Either way, after just three Premier League goals, West Ham fans will be hoping he did make that move to PSG instead, with Hutchison sharing his thoughts, as he told ESPN.

“Everything I said was actually true and that’s why I picked him as being a flop,” said Hutchison. “He was so outstanding in Italy. Everyone wanted him.

“He was going to sign for PSG. Kylian Mbappe wanted him through the door, but he shook hands with David Moyes and look at this return.

Nicol responded: “Hold on, rewind. Everybody wanted him but he decided to go to West Ham?! Who is everybody.”

Hutchison added: “Apparently, Kylian Mbappe wanted him at PSG. But he shook hands with David Moyes, Juve, Inter and Milan all fancied him. But they didn’t want to take the chance.

“But, then he plays 16 games. Three goals. No assists. He will be back in Serie A in the summer. I love him, but he’s not produced.”

WEST HAM’S STRIKER ISSUES

This has been an issue stemming for years and years. It seems to be in the Premier League DNA of the club that whatever striker lands on their doorstep, he struggles.

Well, they have signed a more proven star in Danny Ings during the January transfer window.

He has already gotten off the mark and he will be hoping to fire the Hammers to safety, before finally trying to break the curse of being a consistent goalscoring striker over the course of a season for the club.