The unprecedented legal battle between Kylian Mbappe and his former club Paris Saint-Germain has escalated, turning the contract dispute into one of the most publicized in sports history.
The case was brought to the French Court of Labor earlier this week, with requests for financial compensation exceeding half a billion USD from both Mbappe and PSG.
Initially, Mbappe claimed that PSG still owed him about $63 million. However, according to the new lawsuit, the figure has skyrocketed to $300 million.
Specifically, Mbappe demanded that his term contract be reclassified into long-term contracts, resulting in compensation for illegal dismissals. In addition, the Real Madrid striker has also sued his former team over unresolved wages, bonuses and severance pay.
The former Monaco star also accused PSG of violating their safety and goodwill obligations, delaying payment and causing mental damage. Mbappe also stressed that he was left out of the squad in the 2023-2024 pre-season, forced to train with a group of players outside the plan.
Mbappe's side asserted that these requests are only a legal right that any employee is entitled to, and that he does not demand anything other than his legal right.
Meanwhile, PSG completely rejected Mbappe's demands and counter-sued the player for a total compensation of nearly 510 million USD.
PSG gave specific reasons for the lawsuit, including: damage to transfer opportunities ($208 million), damage to image and lack of goodwill.
Compensation for damages to transfer opportunities related to PSG losing the opportunity to sell Mbappe after he left as a free agent in the summer of 2024. The Paris capital club stressed that Mbappe had rejected a $3330 million transfer offer from Al Hilal in the summer of 2023.
In addition, PSG also demanded compensation for damage to the image and accused Mbappe of being un good-looking in the process of negotiating and executing the contract. They argued that the 2018 World Cup winner had hidden his decision not to activate the extension clause for nearly a year.
In addition, PSG confirmed that there was a written agreement in the summer of 2023 on Mbappe giving up bonuses to return to the first team, although the striker denied it and said there was no evidence.
The court is expected to rule on the lawsuit next month.
