Paris Saint Germain have been told to cough up a staggering £52.5 million to Kylian Mbappe after a French labour court ruled they owe him unpaid wages and bonuses.
The decision brings a messy, two year legal fight to a partial close, though it’s a far cry from the £231.5m the Real Madrid superstar had been chasing. The court found PSG failed to pay three months of his salary in early 2024, plus an ethics and a signing bonus.
“We are satisfied with this ruling. This is what you could expect when salaries went unpaid,” said Mbappe’s lawyer, Frederique Cassereau. The club had been counter suing their former captain for a whopping £211m, claiming his refusal to join Al Hilal in a £300m deal cost them massively.
This whole saga erupted when Mbappe, then 24, made it clear he wouldn’t sign a new deal and turned down the mammoth move to Saudi Arabia. PSG’s response was to exile him from the first team squad, dropping him for the pre season tour and their Ligue 1 opener. He was only reinstated after what the club called an “agreement” to waive certain loyalty payments a claim Mbappe’s camp slammed as “fantasy” in court.
PSG’s lawyers argued the France captain acted “disloyally” by hiding his decision not to extend for nearly a year, causing “significant damages.” But the tribunal’s ruling suggests they overstepped by withholding contracted payments. It’s a major embarrassment for the Qatari backed giants, who once saw Mbappe as the crown jewel of their project.
Despite the acrimonious exit, Mbappe’s legacy in Paris is untouchable on the pitch. He left as their all time top scorer with 256 goals, bagging 44 in his final season alone after being brought back in from the cold. For PSG, the financial sting is one thing, but the reputational hit of losing a bitter fight with their greatest ever player is another altogether. It shows even Europe’s richest clubs can’t always bully their stars into submission.