Victor Wanyama may have turned into a bench warmer at CF Montreal but the latest financial figures suggest he remains the highest earning player at the MLS club.
Former Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama may have turned into a peripheral figure at MLS side CF Montreal but he remains the highest paid player at the club.
Wanyama, who joined CF Montreal as a free agent from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in March 2020, signed a new two-year deal early last year and entering the final year of the contract, his terms have not changed.
According to data released by the MLS Players Association, Argentina legend Lionel Messi remains the money king in the MLS, taking home a total guaranteed compensation of $20.45 million per year, and while his salary cannot come close, Wanyama is the biggest earner at Montreal.
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The midfielder’s 2024 salary stands at $1,800,000 (Ksh236,700,001), which is his annual guaranteed compensation, with his basic salary currently standing at $1,440,000 (Ksh189,360,000).
Wanyama’s salary is $500,000 (Ksh65,750,000) more than the second highest earner at Montreal, being Venezuelan striker Josef Martinez, who takes home $1,309,091 (Ksh172,145,467) both in basic salary and annual guaranteed compensation, after signing a one-year deal when he joined the Canadian side at the start of the current campaign.
Uruguayan striker Matias Coccaro is the third highest earner at Montreal with a basic annual salary of $800,000 (Ksh105,200,000) which goes up to $888,000 (Ksh116,772,000) in annual guaranteed compensation.
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It means Wanyama earns $150,000 (Ksh19,725,000) monthly at the Canadian outfit which is still way lower than the $3,091,667 (Ksh406,554,212) annually and $257,600 (Ksh33,874,400) monthly that he was earning on his initial contract before he took a massive pay cut to extend his stay.
It is still a massive outlay for Montreal on the midfielder who rarely gets game time at the club.
Since the second half of last season, Wanyama has rarely played, managing a few substitute appearances under former coach Hernan Losada, and it has not changed under new man Laurent Courtois, despite assurances of a change in fortunes early in the season.
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Like Losada, Courtois has also made Wanyama a peripheral figure who has managed seven appearances in 16 games. Of the 16, only two have been starts, one in a cup game and another in the league, with the rest being late substitute appearances.
He has fallen down the pecking order with midfielders Samuel Piette ($434,500), Mathieu Choiniere ($302,500) and Nathan Saliba ($142,434) all ahead of him, on a combined annual salary of $879,434, less than half of what Wanyama takes home.
According to the data, Montreal have the second lowest payroll of the 29 MLS clubs, which stands at 12.05 million (Ksh1,584,575,007), which perhaps explains why highly-rated Choiniere has decided to leave the club after failing to agree a new and improved contract.
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