Kylian Mbappe declares war to PSG over €55 million demand and Champions League exclusion
Kylian Mbappe may have been signed as Paris Saint-Germain’s next great prodigy, but his final days with the club have turned into a high-profile legal standoff. Now a Real Madrid star, Mbappé has escalated his battle with PSG, seeking €55 million in unpaid wages and potentially putting the club’s 2025–26 UEFA Champions League participation in jeopardy.
The saga between Mbappe and PSG added a dramatic new chapter this week, as the player’s legal representatives went public with their claims. During a press conference, Mbappe’s lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, laid out the case in detail:
“The process began in February 2024 and, since then, PSG has not fulfilled its contractual obligations. In Kylian Mbappe’s case, it’s not more complicated than that. He joined PSG in the summer of 2017. He signed an employment contract, which was extended in the spring of 2022 for two seasons with an option.”
Verheyden then revealed the key financial dispute: “Along the way, there were exchanges, discussions, pressure, the attic… we’ll come back to all of that. The contracts were signed. There were two. Were they fulfilled? Yes. Until the end? Yes. Paid? No. What’s missing? 55 million euros,” she stated.
Could PSG be banned from the Champions League over Mbappe’s claim?
Mbappe’s legal team claim starts from February 2024, the point where PSG allegedly stopped paying the player’s wages. But how could this end up the French side to be excluded from the Champions League for next season?
According to Verheyden, they’ve met with UEFA to urge a review of the matter under Article 74 of UEFA’s regulations, which states that clubs must have “no overdue payables” by March 31 prior to the licensing season. If UEFA determines PSG has outstanding debt to Mbappe, the French club could see its license revoked—putting their 2025–26 Champions League eligibility at risk.
PSG denies Mbappe’s claims
Unsurprisingly, PSG wasted no time responding. In a strongly worded statement, the club rejected all accusations and defended its treatment of Mbappe, describing him as a player who enjoyed “unprecedented advantages” during his seven years in Paris.
“After hearing yet another fantastic story from a parallel universe today, PSG still fails to understand why Kylian MBAPPE has not taken his case to the Conseil des Prud’hommes (labor court), the only court competent to rule on the dispute with his former club,” the statement begins.
“His lawyers argue that it’s because he is not an employee like any other. On the contrary, PSG considers him an employee like any other and believes he must honor the clear and repeated commitments—both public and private—that he made to his employer, even though he benefited from unprecedented advantages from the club during his seven years in Paris. Fundamentally, this is a matter of good faith, honesty, and loyalty, but also of respect for the values, the Parisian institution, and its fans,” the statement ends.