Real Madrid star forward Kylian Mbappé is suing his former club Paris Saint-Germain for moral harassment over his tense exit from the club in 2024. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the legal filing on Thursday, per the Associated Press.
This follows Mbappé’s legal team saying in April it would take action against PSG. The French star claims the club owes him €55 million ($61 million) in unpaid wages, and Mbappé also expressed dissatisfaction over how the club treated him in his final season.
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After declining a contract extension, the 2018 World Cup winner was sidelined for most of PSG’s 2023-24 campaign and booed at his final game at the Parc des Princes.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the 26-year-old is “denouncing the ‘lofting’ he claimed to have been subjected to at Paris Saint-Germain.” In France, the term “lofting” refers to isolating a player from the team due to administrative or disciplinary-related matters.
PSG signed Mbappé from Monaco in 2017. He then helped the club to seven domestic Ligue 1 titles. The French club appeared in the 2020 Champions League final in 2020 but lost to Bayern Munich. Mbappé scored 256 goals in 308 appearances for the club.
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In 2022, PSG offered Mbappé the most lucrative deal in club history: a three-year, €630 million (approximately $681 million) contract. However, per the AP, Mbappé was reportedly disappointed after the promise to sign key players to play alongside him was not fulfilled. PSG had Neymar, Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos helping Mbappé from 2021 through 2023 but failed to find success outside of France.
In June 2023, Mbappé told PSG he would not exercise his player option and joined Real Madrid on a free transfer. Mbappé’s departure did not go smoothly, as he was left out of PSG’s Japan and South Korea tours and trained separately from the first team. He was also sidelined for their opening game that season, but eventually returned to the field despite the visible tension with the club.
Mbappé scored 35 goals and three assists in the first season of his five-year deal with Real Madrid.
PSG won the Champions League title after steamrolling Inter, 5-0, in May. Mbappé insisted he was not “bitter” after PSG won the title after his exit.
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