Real Madrid and France captain Kylian Mbappé has been awarded €61m after a Paris labour court ruled in his favour in a long-running financial dispute with his former club, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by the Conseil de prud’hommes de Paris, France’s employment tribunal, responsible for workplace and contract disputes. It followed months of legal arguments over wages and bonuses allegedly left unpaid by the club.
The forward had initially demanded more than €263m, claiming PSG breached his contract by failing to pay salaries and bonuses and subjected him to unfair treatment as his contract neared its end. He also sought damages linked to alleged harassment and contractual misconduct.
PSG challenged the allegations and filed a counter-lawsuit, demanding up to €440m in damages. The club stated it endured financial losses when Mbappé rejected a €300m transfer offer from Saudi club Al-Hilal in 2023 and subsequently left on a free transfer in 2024. The club also accused him of breaching principles of good faith and loyalty by not informing the club earlier about his decision not to renew.
After reviewing the case, the court dismissed most claims exceeding €100m from both sides but found that PSG had failed to pay three months of Mbappé’s salary between April and June 2024, along with contractually agreed-upon ethics and signing bonuses. The tribunal ruled that these payments were due, awarding Mbappé €61m.
Kylian Mbappé’s legal camp called the victory an “important” one, adding that the decision reaffirms that labour law applies even at the highest level of professional football, insisting that the player fulfilled all contractual obligations.
In 2023, tensions between Mbappé and PSG escalated after he declined to renew his contract, which was set to expire in 2024. Even after signing a lucrative deal in 2022, he was excluded from the pre-season tour, trained apart from the first team, and omitted from early league games.
After several discussions with the club, he returned for his final season. The club denied harassment claims, stating that Mbappé played in over 94% of matches in the 2023–24 season and trained in accordance with professional football regulations.
Throughout his seven years at PSG, he set a record as the club’s all-time leading scorer, finding the net 256 times in 308 games and helping secure 15 trophies during his time there.
