French court orders PSG to pay 60 million euros to former player Mbappe

PARIS: A Paris labour court on Tuesday ordered Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to pay French captain Kylian Mbappe 60 million euros ($70.6 million) in unpaid salary and bonuses.

Mbappe took PSG to court over earnings he claimed were withheld for April, May and June 2024, shortly before leaving the Ligue 1 club for Spanish giants Real Madrid on a free transfer. The dispute ran for a long time before reaching the Paris labour court in November.

“We are satisfied with the ruling. This is what you could expect when salaries went unpaid,” Mbappe’s lawyer Frederique Cassereau told reporters. The court found the French club guilty of not paying the three months’ salary of Mbappe, an ethics bonus and a signing bonus due under his employment contract. The French Professional Football League (LFP), in two decisions in September and October 2024, determined that the amounts were due to Mbappe under the terms of his contract, and the judges said PSG had not provided any written agreement showing the Madrid forward had waived his entitlement.

The judges rejected PSG’s arguments that Mbappe should give up on his unpaid wages entirely, but also downplayed several of the player’s additional claims, which include allegations of concealed work, moral harassment and breach of the employer’s duty of safety. According to the court, Mbappe’s contract was fixed-term and not a permanent one, a decision that prevented the France international from getting a larger sum in compensation related to dismissal and notice pay.

“This judgment confirms that commitments entered into must be honoured. It restores a simple truth: even in the professional football industry, labour law applies to everyone,” Mbappe’s legal team said in a statement. “Mr. Mbappe, for his part, scrupulously respected his sporting and contractual obligations for seven years, right up to the final day.” PSG had argued that Mbappe acted disloyally by refusing to sign a new contract for nearly a year, which prevented the club from availing a transfer fee similar to the 180 million euros they paid to AS Monaco in 2017 at the time of signing him. Mbappe’s representatives stated that the dispute concerned the strict application of French labour law and unpaid compensation and rewards, not the transfer policy. Sports Desk