The longstanding dispute between Kylian Mbappé and PSG escalated yesterday when a Paris labor court ordered the club to pay around €60 million in unpaid wages and bonuses to their former star player. Although PSG has acknowledged the obligation to pay, they have not ruled out appealing the decision. For professionals in sports law and industry leaders, this case highlights the complex intersection of civil labor law and the special regulatory environment of professional football.
For businesses and high-net-worth individuals, the days of manual “summary-based” reporting are over. We are now in the era of real-time transaction-level scrutiny.
- Unpaid Salary: Wages for April, May, and June 2024.
- Signing Bonus: The final instalment of his 2022 renewal bonus (approx. €36.6m).
- Ethics/Loyalty Bonuses: Contractually mandated payments tied to professional conduct.
The court noted that PSG failed to produce any signed waiver or written amendment to the original 2022 contract. In the eyes of the law, the “moral obligation” PSG cited did not nullify the “legal obligation” to pay for services rendered.
This ruling resonates far beyond the Parc des Princes. It addresses several evolving themes in global sports jurisprudence:
This ruling resonates far beyond the Parc des Princes. It addresses several evolving themes in global sports jurisprudence:
- The Primacy of National Labor Law
Mbappé’s legal team notably declared that’ labor law applies to everyone, even in professional football.’ Their move to skip the LFP’s (French League) initial mediation and pursue a civil labor court demonstrated that sport-specific governing organisations cannot function outside the legal framework. - Rejection of the “Loss of Opportunity” Claim
PSG submitted a substantial €440m counterclaim, claiming Mbappé’s “disloyalty” caused a significant drop in transfer value. However, the court’s rejection indicates that a player choosing to run down their contract—per the Bosman Ruling—cannot be legally regarded as causing “damages” or acting in “bad faith” deserving of a financial penalty. - Limits of Contractual Reclassification
In a small victory for clubs, the court denied Mbappé’s attempt to convert his fixed-term contract (CDD) into a permanent one (CDI). If approved, this could have set a precedent, enabling players to end contracts freely under French employment laws, potentially undermining the transfer fee system.
