Mbappe's $60m PSG pay dispute drags on

PARIS — Kylian Mbappe is not ready to compromise with Paris Saint-Germain.

The France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the French soccer league's legal commission on Wednesday in his dispute with his former club over wages and bonuses.

PSG officials and Mbappe's representatives met in Paris after Mbappe asked the commission to get involved. Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid this summer on a free transfer, says PSG owes him 55 million euros ($60 million).

In a statement, Mbappe's representatives said the player asked the commission to take note of the nonpayment of three months' salary and the last third of a loyalty bonus.

"The eventuality of a mediation was mentioned this morning," the statement read.

"This possibility was rejected during the meeting by the player's representative. A mediation would be useless to record a lack of payment that can be seen from a simple analysis of the player's payslip."

PSG, which said it was pleased with the two-hour hearing at the commission on Wednesday, said in a statement that Mbappe had formerly made "clear, repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven fantastic years in Paris."

PSG has argued that it does not owe money to the World Cup winner under an agreement when Mbappe was sidelined ahead of the 2023-24 season — following his decision not to prolong his contract with the club — with the player allegedly stipulating that he would relinquish bonuses over his reintegration into the team.

"To avoid its payment obligation, the club seeks to demonstrate the existence of a secret agreement that would justify it, but the club fails to demonstrate the existence of such an agreement," Mbappe's representatives said.

PSG said that the league's legal commission recommended "mediation between the parties", which the club said it had been seeking for months.

The French league did not respond to a request for comment.

The player's representatives did not say what action they will now take. In light of the current deadlock, it's likely the case will ultimately be settled by an employment court.

Mbappe's relationship with PSG ended amid deep tensions during his final season at the club.

PSG felt let down by Mbappe after offering him the most lucrative deal in the club's history when he signed a new contract in 2022.

But, Mbappe was frustrated because he felt promises to sign key players were not kept.

When he signed the new deal, he was paraded in front of fans holding up a jersey with 2025 on it. Mbappe was reportedly annoyed about this, because the contract was until 2024 with the option for an extra year.

Mbappe stunned PSG in June last year by informing the club he would not take the option for an extra year.

With his contract effectively into its final year, it put PSG in the position of needing to sell Mbappe to avoid losing him for free when the contract expired.

His PSG career could have ended in the summer of 2023 amid a tense transfer standoff. After telling the club he would not extend his contract for an extra year, Mbappe was left off a preseason tour to Japan and South Korea and forced to train with fringe players. PSG said it would rather sell him than let the player leave for free in 2024, but he rejected a 300 million euro move to Saudi team Al-Hilal.

PSG left Mbappe out of the team's opening league game of that season as the standoff continued, but eventually let him return to the lineup after "constructive and positive talks" between the two parties, PSG said at the time.

Agencies via Xinhua