Big-money James is a safe bet

Real Madrid have taken out insurance policies on their three signings: James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas. The three were covered as soon as they put pen to paper. It is standard practice at the club to insure their new signings.

The policies essentially cover two situations: the player's death or the event of permanent disability which prevents them from returning to professional football.

As is to be expected, this type of policy takes into account all of the determining factors which affect the player in question: if they are injury-prone, if they have previously suffered serious injuries during their careers, the player's age… All of this affects how much the club has to pay.

In the majority of cases, the amount which the club pays is approximately 1% of the cost of the signing. Considering that Real paid Monaco €80 million, James's policy will be in the region of €800,000 a year - one of the highest figures for the 'Los Blancos' first-team squad, and only exceeded by those of Cristian Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, at close to €1 million a year.

The policies signed by Real for the other two summer signings are much more economical. Toni Kroos's policy costs about €300,000 a year, whilst cover for the Costa Rican keeper costs the club in the region of €100,000 a season.