Why a Soccer Star Took His Club to Court
Labor disputes in sports look a lot like labor disputes elsewhere, save for the price tag.
Professional sports may look like pure entertainment, but behind the scenes they operate like any other business built on contracts, compensation, and leverage. Star athletes are employees, teams are employers, and both sides rely on legal agreements to protect their financial interests. When those agreements break down, disputes can end up in court rather than on the field. That’s what happened in a high-profile legal battle between soccer star Kylian Mbappé and his former employer, the team Paris Saint-Germain, also known as PSG. Mbappé sued PSG over unpaid wages, and a French labor court ruled largely — but not entirely — in his favor.
The dispute began after Mbappé decided not to renew his contract and later left the team when the agreement expired. In professional soccer, teams typically only receive money for a player if they sell him to another team before his contract ends. If a player leaves when the deal expires, the employer gets nothing. PSG argued it lost hundreds of millions of dollars by being unable to sell Mbappé, while Mbappé claimed the club withheld salary and bonuses in retaliation. A French labor court ultimately ordered PSG to pay about €60 million in unpaid wages.
The case exposed how far clubs can push contractual pressure before it crosses into legal risk. Mbappé accused PSG of isolating him from the main squad after falling out with management over the wage dispute. PSG denied wrongdoing and argued the player acted in bad faith by signaling his intention to leave too late for the club to arrange a sale. The court eventually rejected Mbappé’s harassment claims, and it also dismissed PSG’s argument that unpaid wages could be withheld as leverage. The ruling reinforced that even in elite professional sports, employment disputes are ultimately governed by labor law, not bargaining power.
Questions:
Why did Kylian Mbappé sue his former team?
Do you think employees in more traditional businesses could also sue former employers? What are some challenges they might face in the process?
Samuel Petrequin, “Mbappé and PSG: The $800M Battle over Unpaid Wages and Moral Harassment,” The Associated Press, November 17, 2025; Julien Pretot and Vincent Daheron, “French Court Orders PSG to Pay Mbappe 60 Million Euros,” Reuters, December 16, 2025.
