[Soccer] Hefty Bonus Awaits ‘Invincible’ Midfielder Park

Soccer star Park Ji-sung could earn up to 7.3 billion won (about 7.3 million U.S. dollars) this season, including 570 million won for Manchester United’s second straight English Premier League title won Sunday against Wigan.

His next game is against Chelsea in the final of the UEFA Champions League May 22 in Moscow. If Park plays in Moscow and his team wins, he will become the first Asian to take part in a Champions League final and earn a bonus of 110 million won.

Park’s annual salary is 5.7 billion won but he can earn a 10-percent bonus if United adds the Champions League title. In addition, team owner Malcolm Glazer has pledged a bonus of 510 million won to each player if the Red Devils achieve the double.

Thus Park will earn a bonus of 1.65 billion won if his team wins the Champions League. Adding to his annual salary, his income for this season could reach 7.35 billion won or more if his team pays a higher bonus than promised.

Often dubbed the most famous sports franchise on the planet, United is able to pay such high bonuses because of the astronomical profit it reaps. The English Premier League charged 5.5 trillion won for three years of TV broadcast rights from this season. About half of the money is evenly distributed to the league’s 20 teams, while a fourth is given based on performance and the remaining fourth depends on the number of times of live telecasts.

United will also receive 100 billion won in prize money alone.

In addition, UEFA gives away 75 percent of broadcast and sponsorship income to participating clubs according to performance. AC Milan of Italy earned about 64 billion won for winning the Champions League last year.

bluesky@donga.com