“Commitments Must Be Honored” – Mbappé Wins €60m Legal Battle Against PSG

Kylian Mbappé has won a significant legal victory over Paris Saint-Germain after a Paris labor court ordered the club to pay him more than €60 million in unpaid wages and bonuses. The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, reopens wounds from one of European football’s most toxic contract breakups and raises fresh questions about how elite clubs handle superstar exits.

At the heart of the case is Mbappé’s decision not to renew his PSG contract in 2023, a choice that ultimately led to his free transfer to Real Madrid in the summer of 2024. The Conseil de prud’hommes de Paris sided with the player, rejecting PSG’s claims that he owed the club compensation for leaving without a transfer fee.

The ruling matters not only because of the scale of the money involved but also because it reinforces a broader principle that even football’s biggest institutions remain subject to labor law. Mbappé’s legal team said the decision “confirms that commitments must be honored” and emphasized that employment protections apply regardless of status or salary.

The dispute has been brewing for more than a year. Mbappé’s lawyers argued PSG owed him wages and bonuses for April, May, and June 2024, claiming the club had withheld payments during the final months of his contract. In total, they initially demanded more than €260 million. PSG, in turn, countered with an extraordinary €440 million claim against the player, citing damages and what it described as a “loss of opportunity” after failing to sell him before his contract expired.

This legal clash is rooted in the collapse of trust between the two sides. After signing a lucrative contract extension in 2022, Mbappé informed PSG in 2023 that he would not trigger an option to extend his deal into 2025. That decision effectively guaranteed he could leave on a free transfer the following summer, depriving the club of a massive fee.

PSG argued that Mbappé had verbally agreed in August 2023 to reduce his pay if he left for nothing, an arrangement the club said was designed to protect its financial stability. They also accused him of concealing his intentions for nearly 11 months, preventing them from organizing a sale and violating principles of loyalty and good faith.

Mbappé’s camp has consistently denied those claims. His lawyers insisted PSG never produced written proof of any agreement to forgo wages, and they portrayed the club’s actions as punitive. During the standoff, Mbappé was excluded from a preseason tour, trained with fringe players, and missed the opening league match of the 2023-24 season before returning to the squad after internal talks.

“Mbappé scrupulously fulfilled his sporting and contractual obligations for seven years and right up to the final day,” his advisers said, adding that he withdrew a harassment complaint in an attempt to avoid prolonged litigation. PSG have firmly rejected allegations of harassment, pointing out that Mbappé featured in more than 94 percent of their matches during the 2023-24 campaign and worked under conditions compliant with the Professional Football Charter.

From PSG’s perspective, the financial stakes were enormous. The club cited a rejected €300 million offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal in July 2023 as evidence of the damage caused by Mbappé’s stance. They claimed €180 million in losses alone from the missed transfer opportunity.

The court’s decision, which can still be appealed, does not necessarily bring the saga to a close. However, it does shift momentum decisively toward the player and weakens PSG’s attempt to recoup losses through the legal system rather than the transfer market.

There is also an unavoidable irony to the timing. Mbappé left PSG as their all-time leading scorer with 256 goals in seven seasons. One year later, the club lifted the Champions League trophy without him, while Mbappé began a new chapter at Real Madrid under intense global scrutiny.

What happens next could set an important precedent. If the ruling stands, it sends a clear message to clubs across Europe about the limits of informal agreements and the risks of using leverage tactics in contract disputes. For players, it reinforces the power of written contracts in an industry often driven by politics and pressure.

The legal battle may not be over, but the lines are now clearly drawn. PSG must decide whether to appeal and prolong a costly fight, while Mbappé moves forward knowing a court has validated his stance. The wider football world will be watching closely, because this case goes far beyond one player and one club.