Overview
- Following the 4-0 win over Ukraine on November 13 that sealed qualification, players asked via captain Kylian Mbappé for a one-off doubled image-right bonus and Philippe Diallo approved it that night.
- The usual payment of about €21,000 per player rose to roughly €42,000, with all 23 called-up players and the technical and support staff, including Didier Deschamps, receiving the enhanced sum.
- The extra outlay is estimated at around €550,000 for the federation, on top of standard match bonuses already worth roughly €210,000 per player over a typical season.
- Some inside the FFF questioned the move given that World Cup qualification is seen as expected and the body recently reported an €8.7 million deficit.
- Diallo publicly defended the decision, citing the team’s commercial pull, a new Nike deal worth about €100 million per year from July 2026, and his view that broader grassroots and professional distributions are being maintained.