Topics: Bayern Munich, Premier League, Raheem Sterling
Bayern Munich's pay structure was once exposed when a key player had his payslip leaked after being stolen from his car.
Bayern have managed to compete with the very best of the Premier League and La Liga for many years, thanks to their dominant position in German football and shrewd business in the transfer market.
They are often able to poach world-class players from their domestic rivals and sign top talent from abroad, handing them significant wage boosts to tempt them to the Allianz Arena.
One such player was former Morocco international defender Medhi Benatia, who left Roma to join Bayern in a £23.9m move in 2014.
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During his time with the German champions, Benatia had his salary leaked on WhatsApp after his payslip was stolen from his car.
The document showed that Benatia was paid £88,000 per week, which works out at around £4.6million per year, by the then Bundesliga champions.
German publication Bild [via The Mirror] reported at the time that police had attempted to track down the person responsible for the leak of the payslip after it was stolen from Benatia's car.
However, it is not clear if the police found the person they were seeking.
The Moroccan is not the only footballer to have had his salary leaked because of his vehicle. Arsenal winger Raheem Sterling had his salary exposed after leaving a payslip in his car at the garage during his time with Manchester City.
The document showed Sterling's basic pay and loyalty bonus, as well as a monumental tax bill of £5.4million he was required to pay at the time.
Benatia spent just two seasons with Bayern, making 46 appearances in all competitions.
He won two Bundesliga titles with the club as well as the German Cup before moving on to Juventus in 2017.
After three seasons in Turin, he later joined Qatari club Al Duhail before retiring in 2021 after a brief spell with Turkish club Fatih Karagümrük.
