PSG hit with enormous £52m legal penalty: report

PSG have swept all in French football before them since their takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in summer 2011.

The capital club have won 11 of the past 14 Ligue 1 titles, eight of the past 11 Coupe de France crowns and finally replicated their domestic dominance on the continent with their maiden Champions League title last season.

And although they sit second in the league this time around, one point behind leaders Lens, you would be a brave person to bet against them being top of the pile again in May.

PSG ordered to pay £52m after bitter legal dispute

There is no doubt that 2024/25 was the best season in PSG's history, as Luis Enrique's men sealed a Treble of Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Champions League.

But off the pitch, the club have been locked in a long-running legal dispute with one of their greatest players.

France captain Kylian Mbappe had been seeking £231.5 million in damages from PSG, including £46.3m in unpaid wages, in response to a contract dispute and alleged ill-treatment by the club.

The saga stemmed from the forward opting to turn down a £259m move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in 2023, before he later refused to sign a contract extension at PSG.

Mbappe was then not invited on the club's pre-season tour of Asia and missed their first match of the 2023/24 season. He joined Real Madrid for free the following summer.

The 2018 World Cup winner claimed he was sidelined by the club following his failed transfer to the Saudi Pro League, while PSG were counter-suing the player for £211m as part of the bitter dispute, which reached a Paris labour court last month.

But the club have today been ordered to pay Mbappe £52.6m in unpaid salary and bonuses, according to Sky Sports, with the court ruling that PSG failed to pay three months of his salary between April and June 2024, plus an ethics bonus and a signing bonus under his contract.

In a statement, Mbappe's legal team said: "This judgement confirms that commitments entered into must be honoured. It restores a simple truth: even in the professional football industry, labour law applies to everyone.

"Mr Mbappe, for his part, scrupulously respected his sporting and contractual obligations for seven years, right up to the final day."

PSG had accused Mbappe of acting "disloyally by concealing for nearly eleven months, between July 2022 and June 2023, his decision not to extend his contract". The club said they had suffered "significant damages" as a result.

Mbappe joined PSG from Monaco in 2017 and won 15 trophies in seven years, while his tally of 256 goals in 308 games makes him the club's all-time leading scorer.