Kylian Mbappé, the world-renowned football superstar, has secured a victory in his legal dispute with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after the French league’s legal commission ruled in his favor. The commission has ordered PSG to pay Mbappé a staggering 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages, which the player claims he is owed.
This decision came just a day after Mbappé rejected a mediation offer from the commission, escalating the conflict between the player and his former club.
The dispute centers around unpaid wages and bonuses that Mbappé believes PSG failed to honor during the final months of his contract. According to Mbappé’s representatives, the French forward had requested the league’s commission to address the non-payment of three months’ salary, along with the remaining third of a loyalty bonus. These financial issues arose after Mbappé left PSG to join Real Madrid on a free transfer this past summer, marking the end of his tumultuous relationship with the Parisian club.
Despite the legal commission’s ruling, PSG has made it clear that it has no intention of paying the amount owed to Mbappé. The club issued a strongly worded statement following the decision, stating that it will pursue further legal action to contest the ruling. PSG argued that the commission does not have the full legal scope to make a definitive decision on the matter and expressed confidence that the case will be resolved in a different legal forum.
“In light of the limitations of the commission’s legal scope to take a complete decision on this matter, the matter must now be contested in another legal forum, to which Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to present all the facts over the coming months and year,” the club said in its statement. PSG maintains that Mbappé had agreed to forgo certain bonuses related to his reintegration into the team after he was sidelined earlier in the 2023-24 season.
The tension between Mbappé and PSG has been brewing for some time, particularly after the player decided not to extend his contract with the club. Following this decision, Mbappé was left out of PSG’s preseason tour and was made to train with fringe players, signaling a clear breakdown in the relationship. The club had hoped to sell Mbappé rather than risk losing him for free when his contract expired in 2024. However, Mbappé rejected a massive 300 million euro offer from Saudi team Al-Hilal, further complicating matters for PSG.
The strained relationship between Mbappé and PSG traces back to the 2022 season when the club offered him the most lucrative contract in its history. PSG had high hopes that Mbappé would lead the team to even greater heights, but the player became increasingly frustrated with the club’s failure to fulfill promises related to signing key players. When Mbappé signed his new contract in 2022, he was paraded in front of fans holding a jersey with “2025” printed on it, suggesting that the deal would keep him at PSG until that year. However, Mbappé was reportedly displeased because the contract actually ran until 2024, with an option for an additional year, which he eventually declined.
In June 2023, Mbappé shocked PSG by officially informing the club that he would not take up the option to extend his contract for another year. With his deal set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season, PSG found themselves in a precarious position. The club was eager to sell Mbappé to avoid losing him for nothing when his contract ran out, but the player was determined to see out the remaining year of his deal, leading to a tense standoff.
PSG initially responded by excluding Mbappé from the team’s opening league game of the season, as negotiations between the two parties stalled. The club’s frustration grew as they grappled with the prospect of losing one of the world’s best players without receiving any compensation. However, after a series of “constructive and positive talks,” Mbappé was eventually reintegrated into the team, allowing him to return to the field for PSG.
Despite the temporary resolution, Mbappé’s departure from PSG was inevitable, and he ultimately joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2023. His exit marked the end of an era for PSG, but the financial dispute over unpaid wages and bonuses has continued to linger. The club’s insistence that Mbappé had agreed to relinquish certain financial entitlements has been a central point of contention, but the French league’s legal commission has now sided with the player.
While PSG prepares to take further legal action, the ruling in Mbappé’s favor represents a significant development in the ongoing saga. The case has not only exposed the deep tensions between the player and his former club but also raised questions about the handling of high-profile contracts in football. For now, Mbappé has won a crucial victory in his pursuit of the unpaid wages, but the legal battle may be far from over as PSG seeks to challenge the ruling in court.
