The CEO of budget airline Ryanair says his potential $109 million bonus is great value for shareholders compared to the money star athletes make

• Ryanair is Europe's biggest airline by market cap, known for its cheap tickets.
• CEO Michael O'Leary is set for a $109 million bonus dependent on the company's stock price rising.

The CEO of ultra-low-cost airline Ryanair told The Wall Street Journal his potential $109 million bonus is "very good value" compared to star athletes.

Michael O'Leary has run the Irish budget airline for three decades. It has risen to become Europe's biggest carrier by market cap and is known for selling tickets for as little as $20.

However, it's also been criticized for overworking its pilots and its ancillary fees — like charging for water on board and a $60 airport check-in cost.

Last December, the Financial Times reported the Ryanair boss is set for one of the biggest bonuses in European history, which is dependent on the airline's share price.

If the stock maintains a price of 21 euros for 28 consecutive days, O'Leary will earn stock options worth 100 million euros, the FT reported.

Three months ago, Ryanair's stock was around 19 euros. It recently hit a record high, and, on Tuesday sat around 20.75 euros. The deal was initially set in 2019 to expire this year but was extended until 2028, per the FT.

Asked about the potentially huge payout by the Journal in an interview published Sunday, the Ryanair chief gave a characteristically outspoken response.

"The obvious question is, well, is anybody worth 100 million over five years?" O'Leary said.

"If premiership footballers are earning fucking 20 million a year and [Kylian] Mbappé is being paid 130 million to go play football for fucking Real Madrid, then I think my contract is very good value for Ryanair shareholders."

Mbappé, the captain of the French national team and arguably the best soccer player in the world, has agreed to a signing bonus of 150 million euros ($162 million) across five years with Real Madrid, the BBC reported.

"The funny thing we've learned over the years is actually the bad publicity sells far more seats than the good," O'Leary told The Journal.

"A lot of people who have never heard of Ryanair suddenly Google it and go: 'Jesus, look at the airfares,'" he added.