Xabi Alonso might be joining Bayern Munich, but not for a €10m salary

As you're well aware, the current rumor that's making the rounds at the moment is that Xabi Alonso will be joining Bayern Munich from Real Madrid. There's a lot of misinformation out there right now, so I've been scouring the web to make sure that we have the best information available to present. Here goes nothing.

• La Sexta reported that Xabi Alonso would be transferring to Bayern Munich.
• El Pais writer Diego Torres Romano tweeted that a press conference had been scheduled tomorrow in Madrid for Alonso to speak. However, there's no word if this is for him to talk about him retiring from La Roja or about him leaving Los Blancos.
• El Pais reports that Alonso is the one that reached out to Bayern.
• AS confirms the press conference is taking place. They say that his current salary is €6 million after taxes.
• Marca says that the transfer fee will be between €5-10 million. The also say that his salary is €6 million, and that Bayern have offered up to €10 million.

Now, we can take a look at things being reported in the German media.

• Bild reports that the contract would be for two years.
• Sport1 say that the press conference is at 13:30 CEST (7:30AM Eastern). They also say that Bayern have offered €10 million, but Madrid are holding out for €15 million. Technical Director Michael Reschke was in Madrid this week to discuss the transfer.

And, finally, we turn to Spain-based Sid Lowe in the Guardian newspaper.

His salary in Germany will be about €1m less than he was earning at Madrid.

We know that, after taxes, Xabi Alonso has been making €6 million under the contract extension he signed last winter. So, if Lowe's reporting is correct, (I trust him more than nearly all of the above mentioned sources.), then Alonso will be making €5 million after taxes in Munich. Before taxes, he'll be making around €7.25 if my calculations are correct. Where does that put him among current Bayern players? It puts him around Manuel Neuer and David Alaba if current salaries are to be believed.

You can forget the gibberish being thrown around about Alonso making €10 million a season at Bayern. The suggestion is ludicrous. Do you remember the €8 million salary being thrown around for Benatia before his signing? Bild then reported that he signed for €5 million annually. If Alonso is joining Bayern, there is zero chance they would make him a top five earner at the club.

On the field, this signing tells me that the club is concerned about the recovery of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez. They don't want to be stuck in a Champions League group with Paris-Saint Germain, Liverpool, and Roma while having to rely on Gianluca Gaudino to play significant minutes. It's an understandable concern.

Maybe we'll find out some information at Alonso's press conference. However, I can tell you that over at SB Nation's Real Madrid blog, Managing Madrid, they don't seem happy to be losing Alonso.