French media: Mbappe has clearly refused to accept mediation pay case could last a year or two [JIAYU]


According to French newspaper Le Parisien, on Wednesday morning local time, the legal committee of the French Professional Football League (LFP) heard the dispute between Mbappe and his former club Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappe is demanding Paris Saint-Germain pay €55m in arrears, which he claims are unpaid wages and bonuses from the club.

On Wednesday morning, representatives of PSG and Mbappe's legal team confronted each other in front of the legal committee of the French Professional Football Federation to discuss the months-long dispute between the two sides over the failure of Greater Paris to pay Mbappe bonuses and wages for April and May, totalling €55 million.

According to PSG, the Ligue 1 league has suggested mediation to resolve the dispute. "The committee stressed the importance of mediation between the two parties, which is what Paris Saint-Germain has been seeking for several months. The Committee invites the players to consider this mediation process." Paris Saint-Germain said in a statement provided to the media.

However, on Wednesday afternoon, Mbappe said in a statement sent to the media that he refused to accept the mediation offer.

The dispute dates back to August 2023, when Paris Saint-Germain left Mbappe out of the squad. A few weeks before that, Mbappe had sent a letter to the club expressing his unwillingness to exercise the optional year clause in his contract. After Mbappe was left out of the team, the two sides appeared to have found a win-win solution: Mbappe returned to the first team, but gave up some of his income.

No formal agreement was signed, however, and the focus of Wednesday's meeting was to examine arguments from both sides: on the one hand, Mbappe claimed that no formal agreement had been reached; Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, provided documentary evidence (including emails and testimonies) and claimed that "the player made clear commitments, which have been reiterated on numerous occasions, both publicly and privately, and must be respected, given the unprecedented resources the club has invested and the brilliant achievements it has made over the past seven seasons."

Paris Saint-Germain "strongly recommended" the commission to mediate. In practice, the commission did not make a final ruling, but instead gave the parties the responsibility to resolve the issue. Now, the ball is in the player's court. Mbappe was not present in person on Wednesday morning, but was represented by his lawyer Delfina Verhayden. He has rejected mediation offers and has the option of taking Paris Saint-Germain to a Labour court. If this route is chosen, the dispute between the two parties is likely to continue for a long time, and it will take at least a year or even two years to initiate proceedings to hear the case.