Kylian Mbappé, the 26-year-old French national team striker, is now at Real Madrid following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain. But not everything is settled between the player and the club where he spent seven years. The French international is in a financial dispute with PSG over unpaid bonuses and wages, while PSG maintains that an agreement was reached. On Monday, the case was heard at the labor court, with the defense and the (astronomical) demands of each party. The player’s lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, then answered questions from L’Equipe.
Delphine Verheyden stated, “The League countered this by saying that the club provided absolutely no evidence to support this fanciful story.”
“Essentially, PSG bases its arguments on the claim that there was a verbal agreement between Kylian Mbappé and Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the club’s president.” What do you say to that?
First, I’ve heard this story several times, and twice already the League has refuted it, saying the club provided absolutely no evidence to support this fanciful tale.
All of this is based on private conversations between the president and his player. In reality, no one was with them. But what’s remarkable is that we live in a country governed by the rule of law. And in a country governed by the rule of law, there are rules.
Delphine Verheyden: “The player is the biggest victim in this affair.”
When you reach an agreement to amend an employment contract, it must be written down, it must be approved. So this whole parallel story we’ve been told from the start simply doesn’t hold water, because even if—and I mean even if—there had been such exchanges between the parties, since it wasn’t formalized and approved, it’s null and void.
PSG is a very big club, with a competent legal department, and they presented an army of lawyers to us today (this Monday). And not one of them knew they had to draft an addendum and have it approved? This charade has to stop. The player is the real victim in this affair. He’s only asking for what he’s owed. Like any employee.
Obviously, the Mbappé camp is continuing its defense (and its attacks). It would be strange to change now, while awaiting the verdict. The position is very disadvantageous for PSG, but they are, logically, offering a very different version. That’s always the case in such a conflict. That’s precisely why the justice system is involved, tasked with untangling the situation as much as possible and finding the fairest verdict.
The wisest course of action, therefore, is to await the decision expected on December 16th. There will likely be an appeal from the losing side, but we might already have some more relevant information to consider. We simply hope that PSG doesn’t make as many mistakes as the lawyer claims. The club is displaying confidence, and there are possibly good reasons for it.
