Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has failed in an initial attempt to get €55m in bonuses paid to him by his former club Paris Saint-Germain.
The France international took the issue to a Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) Legal Commission, who had the non-binding power to immediately rule in his favour or to dismiss the claim.
Instead, a two-hour hearing led to the recommendation of mediation – something reigning Ligue 1 champions PSG welcome. The committee’s recommendation is non-binding and Mbappe can now either proceed with mediation, drop his claim or choose to take formal legal action.
Mbappe Could Face Lengthy Wait for Resolution
France international may take complaint to court of law
Mbappe, who officially left PSG on June 30, 2024, chose to lodge his complaint with the LFP rather than in a court of law, and if he does now chase the funds via the latter, the matter is likely to take over two years to resolve itself via an Employment Tribunal. Any such Tribunal will consider the Legal Commission’s views today, which deemed PSG to have arguments to merit mediation.
The attacker made a verbal pact with the French giants in August 2023 not to leave on a free transfer without compensating the club. As a result, he agreed to waive two loyalty-bonus payments, one totalling €30m for the first two years of his contract and a second €25m signing-on fee. This accounts for the €55m-net, or €68m-gross from PSG’s perspective.
PSG subsequently drafted paperwork to formalise this gentleman’s agreement, but Mbappe told them he was unwilling to sign because he was considering staying at the club, despite informing them previously he wouldn’t be triggering a one-year extension that would have kept him at the Parc des Princes until 2025.
Kylian Mbappe’s season-by-season Ligue 1 record at Paris Saint-Germain | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Sent off |
2023/24 | 29 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
2022/23 | 34 | 29 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
2021/22 | 35 | 28 | 19 | 10 | 0 |
2020/21 | 31 | 27 | 7 | 5 | 0 |
2019/20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
2018/19 | 29 | 33 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
2017/18 | 27 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
Statistics correct as of 11/09/2024 | |||||
Mbappe subsequently left for Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer, and as soon as his PSG contract ended, he has been chasing funds that PSG already and firmly consider waived.
PSG not only insist the verbal agreement binding, but the French champions point out even Mbappe referenced it in public on several occasions.
PSG now believe the LFP’s complaints committee has validated their position and arguments. In a statement, Mbappe’s former employers said:
“Paris Saint-Germain is very pleased with today’s two-hour hearing before the Commission. The club recalled that the player has made clear, repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven fantastic years in Paris.
“In light of the club’s oral and documented arguments, the Commission insisted on mediation between the parties, which Paris Saint-Germain has been seeking for many months. The Commission has now invited the player to consider the mediation process.”
PSG and Mbappe have been exchanging legal letters over this matter for months. Mbappe’s lawyers even made accusations of “moral harassment” and “attempted extortion”, forcing PSG to consider a defamation counter-claim.
But the crux of the issue is Mbappe’s failure to accept the gentleman’s agreement made directly with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi on behalf of the club.
Mbappe made promises, privately and publicly, to not leave the club on a free transfer without compensating PSG in some way. And PSG argue:
“The fact that the player himself appeared with a jersey marked with the year 2025 when his [original contract] extension was announced [in May 2022] illustrated this common commitment [not to leave on a free a year earlier].”
Mbappe Was Put on the Market Last Year
Ligue 1 giants wanted suitors to be aware of attacker’s availability
Following a difficult summer in 2023, when Mbappe was excluded from PSG’s pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, the club decided to put him on the market to ensure suitors knew he was available.
GIVEMESPORT can reveal PSG set an asking price of at least €180m (£152m) for Mbappe at that time. But with him removed from the main group, and the situation finely balanced, productive talks took place to clear the air and reintegrate him. Two options were proposed.
A PSG correspondence to Mbappe said:
“The first providing for an extension of the employment contract and a permanent transfer in the summer of 2024 for an amount of more than one hundred and eighty million euros.
“The second providing for a free exit in the summer of 2024 associated with a salary saving at the equivalent “cost” for the club (including renewal bonuses not paid in such cases).”
Mbappe chose option two and the parties then attached three further terms: that Mbappe would be reinstated to the first team, that the verbal agreement would be formalised “no later than noon on August 14”, and that a joint press release would be circulated stating the dispute was over.
But Mbappe never signed the paperwork and PSG thus settled on a binding gentleman’s agreement, trusting him to stick to his word. They now think he has “deceived” the club and “acted in bad faith”.
The LFP’s Legal Commission ruling is significant because it shows they have decided not to side with Mbappe or sanction any payment. PSG view this as a victory because it endorses their arguments and now Mbappe must decide whether to still chase the funds, which PSG have no intention to pay freely.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and Sofascore