Football: Players' insurance is part of the game

Football has become a real industry with clubs investing considerable sums in players. In 2018, the 32 teams qualified for the World Cup in Russia had a market value of 17.26 billion USD. The French team, the most expensive in the World Cup, alone was worth 1.89 billion USD.

The absence of a star such as L. Messi, Neymar or C. Ronaldo on the pitch can cause his club to lose millions of dollars (advertising, ticketing, etc.). It is to preserve their interests that clubs underwrite insurance contracts in case of unavailability of players due to injury or illness.

Theoretically, special covid-19 covers can be purchased even though professional footballers are generally strong and healthy people. To-date, only two professional players have died of coronavirus.

For his part, a professional footballer can underwrite an insurance policy to offset his reduced revenues in case of unavailability. The calculation of the premium is based on the player's income. For the 2019-2020 season, the salary of L. Messi, the highest paid player in the world, was 131 million EUR. He is followed, in descending order, by C. Ronaldo with 118 million EUR and Neymar with 95 million EUR.

In France, it is in footballers' interest to personally sign a contract beyond the three-month period of unavailability. Clubs are required by law to pay players for up to one quarter in the event of a work stoppage. The allowances paid by the social security funds are capped at 7 000 EUR per month for work-related accidents and 1 600 for illness EUR, amounts that are extremely below real incomes of football stars.