Kylian Mbappé has secured a £52million payout from Paris Saint-Germain after a French court ruled that the club unlawfully withheld three months of salary and bonus payments during the final stages of a toxic breakdown in relations between player and employer.
The judgment confirms that PSG failed to pay Mbappé sums owed between April and June last year, a period in which tensions between the France captain and the club were already at breaking point.
Although the forward had initially sought a far larger settlement of £231.5m, including damages for moral harassment and an alleged breach of PSG’s duty of care, the court dismissed those wider claims while still delivering a substantial financial victory.
Mbappé’s lawyer, Frédérique Cassereau, welcomed the ruling, saying the outcome reflected the basic facts of the case.
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“We are satisfied with the ruling,” Cassereau said. “This is what you could expect when salaries went unpaid.”
The case stems from a bitter contract dispute that dominated French football throughout 2023.
Mbappé, then the cornerstone of PSG’s sporting and commercial identity, informed club executives that he would not activate the optional one-year extension in his contract.
Kylian Mbappé has secured a £52million payout from Paris Saint-Germain after a French court ruled that the club unlawfully withheld three months of salary and bonus payments during the final stages of a toxic breakdown in relations between player and employer
|GETTY
That decision meant the forward was on course to leave as a free agent in 2024, a scenario PSG were desperate to avoid.
Only a year earlier, Mbappé had signed the most lucrative contract in the club’s history, extending a relationship that began when PSG paid £166m to sign him from Monaco in 2017.
His refusal to extend again triggered a standoff that saw the club sideline him, attempt to force a transfer and, ultimately, withhold payments the court has now ruled were contractually due.
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Mbappé refused to negotiate with the Saudi Pro League side, effectively killing the deal and further inflaming relations.
PSG later launched a counterclaim valued at £211m, arguing that Mbappé’s conduct had caused financial damage to the club.
That argument was rejected.
The court dismissed PSG’s assertion that Mbappé had acted disloyally by concealing his intention not to renew, ruling that such behaviour did not justify forfeiture of wages.
While the judges declined to award damages for harassment or breach of safety obligations, the finding that salaries and bonuses were wrongly withheld proved decisive.
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| GettyMbappé’s departure brought an end to a seven-year spell in Paris that delivered 256 goals, a club record, along with multiple domestic titles but persistent European frustration.
Ironically, PSG lifted the Champions League trophy for the first time in their history in the season immediately following his exit.
For Mbappé, the move to Real Madrid has brought both freedom and form.
The 26-year-old is shining in Spain, scoring 26 goals in 22 appearances alone this season and reasserting his status as one of world football’s dominant figures.