French court rules PSG owes Kylian Mbappe $70.5m
A Parisian court ruled that Kylian Mbappe is owed more than $70 million in unpaid salary by his former club Paris Saint-Germain.
Mbappe, 26, scored a club-record 256 goals in seven years with PSG before leaving in May 2024 and later joining Real Madrid on a free transfer. Mbappe, the captain of France's national team, and the reigning European champions have since been embroiled in a dispute over alleged unpaid salary.
The dispute stems from a "gentlemen's agreement" that PSG said Mbappe agreed to in August 2023. That followed a letter Mbappe sent the club two months before informing PSG that he did not intend to exercise a one-year option to extend his contract to June 2025.
According to the club, two options that were part of the gentlemen's agreement included Mbappe extending his contract until June 2025 so that PSG could command a transfer fee, or Mbappe returning money to the club to help alleviate the financial hit from losing him to a free transfer.
Mbappe's lawyers contested that there was no proof that such an agreement ever existed. Three days after he joined Real Madrid, PSG announced it was enacting the second option of the agreement, setting in motion the two-year dispute.
Both sides appeared before the Conseil de prud'hommes de Paris last month, with Mbappe claiming nearly $310 million in total unpaid salary while PSG filed a counterclaim seeking $518 million in damages. While the court did not award Mbappe the full amount he sought in dismissing his additional claims that included psychological harassment, it did rule was owed his wages for the three months before he transferred to Real Madrid, along with his ethics and signing bonus.
The court rejected all of PSG's demands, while awarding Mbappe €60million ($70.5M).
In a statement, Mbappe's legal team said: "This ruling confirms that commitments entered into must be honoured. It restores a simple truth: even in the professional football industry, employment law applies to everyone.
"Mr Mbappe, for his part, scrupulously respected his sporting and contractual obligations for seven years, right up to the final day."
In a statement, PSG said it accepts the court's ruling but will also consider an appeal.
"Paris Saint-Germain takes note of the judgment pronounced by the Paris Labor Court, which it will execute, while reserving the right to appeal," the statement read. "Paris Saint-Germain has always acted in good faith and with integrity, and will continue to do so. The club is now looking to the future, based on unity and collective success, and wishes the player the best for the rest of his career."
