Kylian Mbappé is not willing to reach an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain.
The French superstar on Wednesday rejected an offer of mediation from the French football league's legal commission in his dispute with his former club over wages and bonuses.
Mbappe's representatives met with PSG officials in Paris after the French star asked the commission to intervene. Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer, claims PSG owes him 55 million euros (about $60 million).
In a statement to The Associated Press, Mbappe's representatives said the player had asked the commission to take note of the unpaid three months' salary and the last third of a loyalty bonus.
“This morning, the possibility of mediation was discussed,” the statement reads. “This possibility was rejected during the meeting by the player's representative. Mediation would be useless in order to establish a lack of payment that could be verified by a simple analysis of the player's salary.”
PSG, which expressed satisfaction at the two-hour hearing at the commission on Wednesday, said in a statement that it recalled that Mbappe had previously made “clear and repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having received unprecedented benefits from the club during seven fantastic years in Paris.”
The Ligue 1 champions have argued they do not owe the World Cup winner any money under a deal when Mbappe was sidelined ahead of the 2023-24 season following his decision not to extend his contract with the club, with the player reportedly stipulating he would forgo bonuses upon his return to the team.
PSG said the legal commission had recommended “mediation between the parties,” something the club said it had been seeking for months.
“The Commission has now invited the player to consider the mediation process,” a PSG spokesman said.
The player's representatives have not said what action they will take now. Given the current impasse, it is likely that the case will ultimately be resolved in a labour court.
Mbappé'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 contract in the club's history when he signed a new deal in 2022. But Mbappe was frustrated because he felt promises to sign key players were not kept.
When he signed the new contract, he paraded in front of the fans holding a shirt with the number 2025. Mbappé was apparently upset by this because the contract was until 2024 with the option of an additional year.
Mbappé surprised PSG in June last year by telling the club that he would not make use of the option for an additional year. With his contract practically in its final year, PSG was forced to transfer Mbappé 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 dispute. After telling the club he would not renew his contract for another year, Mbappe sat out a pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea and was forced to train with reserve players. PSG said they would rather sell him than let the player leave for free in 2024 but rejected a €300m move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
PSG left Mbappe out of the team's opening league game of that season while the standoff continued but eventually let him return to the lineup after “constructive and positive talks” between the two sides, PSG said at the time.
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this story.
