legal dispute between paris saint germain and Kylian Mbappe The situation escalated on Monday, with both sides making huge financial demands.
The French star forward and his former club are at loggerheads over alleged unpaid wages, with the financial dispute being heard at the Industrial Court.
Mbappe did not attend the hearing, but has previously claimed that the reigning European champion owes him 55 million euros (approximately $63 million). He is currently demanding more than 260 million euros from the club, claiming that PSG is obligated to pay the money because his fixed-term contract should be converted into a permanent contract. Such reclassification would give rise to compensation for unfair dismissal and nonpayment of wages, bonuses, and severance benefits.
It also seeks damages for moral harassment, undeclared labor and breaches of PSG’s duty of good faith and safety.
“Kylian Mbappé is not asking for anything more than what is required by law. He is simply asking for his legal rights to be enforced, just as any employee would do,” the player’s advisor said in a statement.
Meanwhile, PSG are seeking a total of 440 million euros from the striker, including 180 million euros in “opportunity losses” to complete the transfer, since he left as a free agent after refusing to pay 300 million euros. Offer from Saudi club Al Hilal In July 2023.
In a statement, PSG said it was seeking compensation not only for damage to its reputation and image, but also for breaches of good faith in the negotiations and performance of the contract.
A court ruling is expected next month.
PSG claimed that when Mbappe was sidelined ahead of the 2023-24 season following his decision not to extend his contract, there was a verbal agreement in place for him to forgo his bonus in order to return to the team.
“In court, the club provided evidence showing that the player acted in bad faith by concealing his decision not to extend his contract for approximately 11 months, from July 2022 to June 2023, thereby depriving the club of the possibility of arranging a transfer,” PSG said in a statement.
“The player then objected to the contract he signed with the club in August 2023, which provided for a reduction in his salary if he left on a free transfer, in order to maintain the financial stability of the club, which had made an extraordinary investment.”
Mbappé’s camp responded that PSG had not provided any evidence of an agreement to waive these payments.
In accusing PSG of moral harassment, Mbappe denounced the “exaltation” he claimed to have suffered within the club. The word lofting is used in France to refer to a practice that involves separating a player from the main team for sporting, administrative or disciplinary reasons.
Mbappe was certainly unhappy with the way he was treated by the Ligue 1 club when he was dropped from the squad ahead of the 2023-24 season after deciding not to extend his contract with the club.
Mbappe scored a club-record 256 goals in seven years with PSG before joining Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer of 2024, but the club won the Champions League this year without him.
His relationship with PSG ended under deep tension as he felt the club had let him down despite offering him the richest contract in the club’s history when he signed a new contract in 2022.
A year later, Mbappé surprised PSG by telling the club he would not pick up his option for a year. With Mbappé’s contract effectively in its final year, PSG found themselves in a position where they needed to sell him to avoid wasting money at the end of his contract. Mbappe joined PSG from Monaco in 2017 for 180 million euros.
After informing the club that he would not extend his contract, Mbappé was left out of the pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea and was forced to train with surrounding players. PSG said they would rather sell the player than let him leave on a free transfer in 2024, but he rejected a €300 million move to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
PSG excluded Mbappé from the opening league match of that season, but he was quickly reinstated after discussions.
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