It’s so easy to get bogged down in the ridiculous finances that are involved in football, but players do have a problem when they fall out of favour at a big club.
The financial gap is bigger than ever at the highest level and it means fringe players at Real Madrid will earn much more than the average team can offer, so it can be difficult to get rid of them.
Mariano Diaz played a grand total of 40 minutes in La Liga last season for Real so it’s clear that he isn’t needed, but a report from Portuguese outlet O Jogo has highlighted the issues with getting him to go.
Benfica need a new striker and they point out that they are closing in on a move for Mariano, but his wage demands are becoming a real issue.
It’s suggested that his annual salary at Real came to €4m so that was already a stretch for the Portuguese giants, but a move looks even less likely after he upped his demands to €5m per season.
Mariano demonstrated at Lyon that he can be a very effective striker so he should be a good signing for Benfica if a compromise is found, but that’s looking unlikely just now.