Paris Saint-Germain has yet to pay Kylian Mbappé his bonus plus two months' salary until 2024, sources told ESPN, a factor that contributed to his comments on Tuesday about his discontent with the club.
On Tuesday, Mbappe said certain people at PSG made him “unhappy” in his first press conference since completing his free transfer to Real Madrid.
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On Wednesday, sources told ESPN that PSG felt he was being “ungrateful” in his comments and added that PSG will not pay back wages of 80 million euros ($86 million) in salaries and bonuses in a effort to recover the money from his departure. , which, according to sources, Mbappé agreed with PSG in August.
Sources said Mbappe is seeking back pay because PSG left him out for the end of the season once he told them he was leaving the club.
He is owed his February bonus plus April and May salaries, and it remains to be seen whether the club will pay him his June salary, sources said.
Sources denied that anyone within the club had told Mbappe that he would never play again during the season, adding that the club had tried to do everything possible to make him happy over the past seven years.
At a press conference with the France team on Tuesday, Mbappé said the Paris club told him he would not play at all in the 2023-24 season.
Mbappe was involved in a dispute last summer with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi over whether he would extend his contract beyond the end of the season. He credited the club's coach, Luis Enrique, and sporting director, Luis Campos, for “saving him.”
“[The club] “They made me understand that I would not play, they told me to my face, they told me violently,” said Mbappé. “Luis Enrique and Luis Campos saved me. Without them I would not have stepped on the field again. The mere fact of playing was a great source of pride, but I'm sure that next year I won't be satisfied with a year like this.”
PSG plans to move forward with a new project based more on collective strength, sources told ESPN.
Previously, Mbappé was close to joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2022 before finally opting to sign a new contract at the Parc des Princes.
Speaking on “ESPN FC Daily” on Tuesday, former Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman said he believes the story could complicate his start at the Bernabeu.
“I think he has to win over a lot of fans,” McManaman said. “I think it's appropriate that he joined now that they've won their 15th Champions League and are sitting at the top of the tree. But yeah, the fact that he agreed to join them two years ago and then quit at the last minute. team at a really exciting and important time for the future and for himself.
And he added: “If he wants to be the global superstar recognized as the best, he will have to arrive and be better than Vinícius Júnior, who will win the Ballon d'Or this year. He will have to do it.” “If he is better than Jude Bellingham, he will have to score more goals, because Jude, as expected, will have to return to midfield.”
