DFB team: No agreement on World Cup bonuses shortly before the start of the tournament

Kimmich negotiates

No agreement on World Cup bonuses shortly before the start of the tournament

Negotiations about the bonuses for the national players are still ongoing. What the World Cup increase and new FIFA payments mean for players and the association.

Shortly before the start of the World Cup for the German national soccer team, negotiations over tournament bonuses between the players and the DFB have not been completed. “Yes, we’re close to it. So, it’s looking good,” Jonathan Tah said at a news conference in Winston-Salem. Like captain and club colleague Joshua Kimmich, the FC Bayern defender is one of the professionals who are negotiating with the association on behalf of the team.

It is unusual that not all bonus details have been agreed upon shortly before the start of the World Cup on Sunday (7 p.m./ARD and MagentaTV) in Houston against Curaçao. “We are in good discussions with the team council. But we are not conducting the negotiations publicly,” DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said in May. In the previous week, the head of the association in Chicago had not yet been able to announce any implementation.

The last German world champions around captain Philipp Lahm received the highest bonus so far in Brazil in 2014 with 300,000 euros per man. There would even have been 400,000 euros for winning the title at the home European Championship in 2024.

After the quarter-final defeat against Spain, each of the 26 players received 100,000 euros. At the last two World Cup tournaments in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar, the players came away empty-handed after being eliminated in the preliminary round.

Kimmich explained the player perspective at the start of the World Cup preparations in Herzogenaurach at the end of May. “It’s a nice side benefit that you’re entitled to because you also deliver. But success motivates us more than the money,” said the 110-time national player. Of course, it is clear to everyone that at the XXL World Cup with 48 teams for the first time, “a lot of money is behind, a lot of money is being paid”.

He also has the feeling that the DFB as an association is “doing better again” economically, said Kimmich. He indicated that the players were actively representing their demands in the negotiations with Neuendorf and DFB managing director Andreas Rettig.

The sticking point in the last-minute talks should not be the bonus for a World Cup victory. It will be difficult for the DFB if ​​the selection fails in one of the first knockout rounds and fewer payments from FIFA flow into the association’s coffers.

At the end of April, the world association raised the premiums after protests from large nations such as Germany and England. Each participant will now receive $12.5 million, an additional two million, for qualification and tournament preparation. The DFB had previously complained about planning uncertainty given the dollar exchange rate and the regionally different tax laws in the USA.