SOCCER
Revealed: why the relationship between Mbappé and PSG broke down
In February, the announcement of his departure caused a seismic shock. Here’s why the relationship ended.
On a rainy afternoon in Paris on February 15, the separation between Kylian Mbappé and Nasser Al Khelaïfi finally happened. The striker visited the Qatari president’s office to inform him that he would not be renewing his contract with Paris Saint-Germain, and that his decision was final.
Despite having done everything possible to keep Mbappé, including offering him an unprecedented salary in European football, Al Khelaïfi didn’t take the news well. He even attempted to exile Mbappé once more, just as he had done during preseason months earlier.
Why is there a court case between Mbappé and PSG?
At that moment, the club turned to a verbal agreement Mbappé had made with Al Khelaïfi in August, in which the player agreed to forgo €55 million in loyalty bonuses owed to him. Starting in April, PSG stopped paying parts of his salary, triggering a dispute that has dragged on for months. Today, the LFP’s Joint Appeals Committee is set to rule on the case.
PSG claim they have irrefutable evidence that the verbal agreement is binding, citing a statement made by Mbappé on January 3, after winning the Super Cup against Toulouse. In that statement, Mbappé confirmed there was an agreement with the president that “protected all parties.” Although the exact details of the pact have not been made public, the club are relying on this agreement to justify their stance in what could become a lengthy legal battle—especially if the Appeals Committee side with the Real Madrid-bound striker, as the LFP’s Legal Commission did in September.
Mbappé’s legal team, however, argue that the verbal agreement isn’t binding, and they have consistently refused to reconcile with PSG. The footballer’s lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, has used this stance to strengthen their case, which will likely be referred to the Prud’hommes Court, the judicial body responsible for ruling on labor disputes.
Mbappé believe the €55 million withheld by PSG is rightfully his, based on the two-year contract extension he signed in May 2022. PSG, on the other hand, claim that the player was supposed to sign a written agreement with Al Khelaïfi in August 2023 to formalise the arrangement, but that signature never happened—leading to the ongoing dispute.
On October 15, the LFP’s Joint Appeals Committee postponed the decision due to the unresolved differences between Mbappé and PSG. Regardless of the committee’s ruling this Friday, it seems likely that the case will ultimately be referred to the Labour Court. Given the ongoing tension between the two sides, a resolution through conciliation seems highly unlikely.