Real Madrid

Calderón Offers Madrid Players Christmas Bonus

Real Madrid supremo Ramón Calderón is set to offer his superstar employees a massive Christmas bonus in an attempt to rejuvenate the team’s flagging campaign. But as always, there is a condition attached.

22 Nov 2008 00:25:02

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Ramon Calderon - Real Madrid (AFP)

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In a bid to put a stop to the club’s current downhill spiral, Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón is reportedly willing to dish out more than €120,000 per head if the team can win their next five successive games.

According to Radio Marca, the Bernabéu head honcho was present at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground himself where he addressed the entire playing and coaching staff, including the injured Ruud van Nistelrooy and unfit Rubén de la Red, sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, trainer Bernd Schuster as well as technical secretaries, Miguel Ángel Portugal and José Ángel Sánchez.

The president’s proposal was simple: win all five upcoming matches (Recreativo Huelva, BATE Borisov, Getafe, Sevilla and Zenit St. Petersburg) and each individual in the entire squad will pocket a handsome €120,000-plus.

The early Christmas offer could not have come at a better time as Los Merengues will now enter without question the most difficult phase of the campaign. Following the aforementioned five-game sequence, the reigning La Liga champions will then take on Barcelona, Valencia and Villarreal in successive matchdays.

The bonus proposition was a successful strategy last season when the players were offered €30,000 each if they could beat Barça at the Camp Nou. Madrid won 0-1 thanks to a solitary Júlio Baptista strike.

KS Leong