France’s hopes of winning the World Cup are gone after getting thrashed by Spain in the semi-final. Yet their misery still comes with an eight-figure check. That’s because even if they lose their next match, they’ll still take home millions in prize money—and their star player Kylian Mbappé is set to give away his entire share.
The fan-favorites were beaten 2-0 by Spain last night, marking France’s worst World Cup finish since 2014. But they still have one more match to play: The team will now play for third place, facing the loser of today’s match between England and Argentina.
And that will determine exactly how much money they will win. They’re guaranteed at least $27 million if they place fourth in the competition. But if France win their next match and place third, $29 million will be up for grabs.
Although the players will take a sizable chunk of this, its 27-year-old striker Mbappé probably won’t keep any of it.
Despite being France’s all-time top goalscorer and deemed one of the “World Cup’s all-time greats,” Mbappé hasn’t received any salary from the national team since 2018.
