PSG to go to courts over Mbappé $60M pay ruling

Paris Saint-Germain will take their wage dispute with Kylian Mbappé to court after the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) ruled in favor of the France captain on Friday.

French media reported Mbappé, who has not commented on the dispute, is seeking around €55 million ($60m) in salary and bonuses he says he is owed by the club.

The Ligue 1 champions have said Mbappé’s contract was “legally amended” and that he reneged on commitments when he left the club to join Spanish giants Real Madrid during the summer transfer window.

PSG said last month that Mbappé, 25, had refused an offer from the LFP to mediate on the issue.

The LFP’s National Joint Appeals Commission heard the parties on Oct. 15 and announced on Friday it had ruled in favour of Mbappé.

“The club must pay him the salary he is claiming. This decision is not subject to appeal, but may be referred to the FFF [French Football Federation] Executive Committee,” the LFP told Reuters.

However, PSG said they would be “forced to bring the case before the competent courts” while still trying to find an “amicable solution” with Mbappé, who became the French club’s all-time top scorer during his seven-year stay in the capital.

“What is in debate, and will ultimately be heard before an appropriate tribunal, is that the original contract was legally amended in August 2023 relating to the 2024-25 season, and also fully recognised by the player including in January 2024 — until the player then decided to renege all his commitments upon leaving the club,” a PSG spokesperson said.

“As a matter of law and fact, the player has made clear, repeated public and private commitments that the club simply asks are honoured, with the player being afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven years in Paris.

“The club hopes these basic commitments will simply be respected, knowing that the club will be forced to have the player’s bad faith judged by the competent courts if the player regrettably seeks to pursue this incomprehensibly damaging dispute, for himself and for French football, further.”

Mbappé’s representatives were not immediately available for comment.

In January, Mbappé had said he made an agreement with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi which would “protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead.”