Colombo's King-Size Wage!
The Italian defender is now banking a jaw-dropping £1.3m a week in Saudi Arabia, more than triple Chelsea's top earner.
“I came for the project, the ambition. And yes, the money is nice too.”
Christian Colombo is not hanging about. Six months after his £27m switch from Real Madrid to Al-Hilal, the numbers are in – and they are staggering.
The Italian defender, 33, is pocketing £1,300,000 a week in Riyadh. That's £67.6m a year. Before tax.
Let that sink in.
At Chelsea, the club where he made just 18 league appearances across five seasons, the best-paid player earns £390,000 a week. Colombo is now on more than three times that. Three times!
And this is a defender. A right-back, left-back, centre-back, you name it. Not a flashy forward. Not a goal machine. A steady, versatile, reliable defender.
But Al-Hilal don't care. They want stars. They want names. They want Christian Colombo.
The Saudi club, known far beyond its borders, has form. Just a fortnight ago we told you about Rogério José banking £1.4m a week at the same club. Now Colombo joins him in the millionaires' club.
Colombo's journey has been long. From Cardiff City to Norwich, RB Leipzig to Liverpool, Chelsea to Real Madrid, and now to the desert. Eight clubs in total. 673 club games. 39 goals. 127 Italy caps.
But this move is different. This is the payday.
His deal runs to June 2065. That's two more years of £1.3m a week. £135m in total if he sees it out.
Not bad for a lad who once couldn't get a game at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea sold him to Real Madrid for £49.7m in 2053. They'll be kicking themselves now. Well, maybe not – they got a fee. But they'll be watching on with envy as their former bench-warmer becomes one of the best-paid players on the planet.
Al-Hilal have won 15 major titles. They had a run of five Saudi Crown Prince Cups in a row from 2007/08 to 2011/12. They know how to win. And they know how to spend.
Colombo has played just five games for them so far. No goals. But who cares? At £1.3m a week, he doesn't need to score. He just needs to turn up.
And turn up he has. The Italian is loving life in Saudi. The sun, the cash, the adulation.
“This is a new chapter,” he said after signing. “I gave everything to Real Madrid for eleven years. Now I give everything to Al-Hilal.”
Eleven years at the Bernabéu. 466 games. 32 goals. A legend.
Now he's a very, very rich legend.
The question is, who's next? Al-Hilal are clearly not done. They've got José, they've got Colombo. The cheque book is open.
And when it's open, football takes notice.