PARIS (AP) 鈥� Kylian Mbapp茅鈥檚 legal team is going on the attack to try and resolve the legal dispute between the World Cup winner and his former club Paris Saint-Germain.
The France striker argues PSG owes him 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages, and his lawyers say they have asked the Paris court to start proceedings.
Legal expert Thomas Clay said Mbapp茅 has been authorized to make a precautionary seizure of the money, which has been frozen from PSG鈥檚 bank accounts on Thursday. A legal hearing is scheduled for May 26, he added.
鈥淭his story has been going on for just over a year now. One year was the deadline we set for ourselves for trying to resolve this dispute as peacefully as possible,鈥� Mbapp茅鈥檚 main lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, said.
鈥淎s the months went by, Kylian Mbapp茅 still hasn鈥檛 been paid the missing 55 million euros. A decision has been taken, this time to go on the attack.鈥�
Verheyden said they were also asking the French sports minister to intervene and to legally challenge a decision by the appeals commission of the French Football Federation, which ruled that Mbapp茅鈥檚 appeal against PSG was not receivable.
She said she will also ask UEFA to look into the matter, arguing that PSG is in breach of its salary obligations. Verheyden suggested that PSG, if found responsible, could lose the licence allowing the club to play in the Champions League.
Last October, the French league appeals commission ordering PSG to pay Mbapp茅 the unpaid wages he wants. Mbapp茅 claims the club owes him three months鈥� salary and the last third of a loyalty bonus.
He last summer on a free transfer after scoring a club-record 256 goals in seven years at PSG.
PSG argued that when Mbapp茅 was sidelined before the 2023-24 season 鈥� following his decision not to extend his contract 鈥� there was a verbal agreement with him opting to relinquish bonuses in order to return to the team.
Mbapp茅鈥檚 relationship with PSG ended amid and some in his last home game at Parc des Princes. PSG felt let down by Mbapp茅 after offering him the most lucrative contract in club history when he in 2022.
But Mbapp茅 was frustrated because he felt promises to sign key players were not kept. When he signed that deal, he was paraded in front of fans holding up a jersey with 2025 on it. Mbapp茅 was reportedly annoyed because the contract was until 2024 鈥� with a player鈥檚 option for an extra season.
Mbapp茅 stunned PSG in June 2023 by informing the club he would for an extra year. With his contract effectively into its final year, it put PSG in the position of needing to sell Mbapp茅 to avoid losing him for nothing when the contract expired.
His PSG career could have ended that summer amid a .
After telling the club he would not extend, Mbapp茅 was left off a preseason tour to Japan and South Korea and forced to train with fringe players. PSG said it would rather sell him than let the player leave for free in 2024, but he rejected a to Saudi Arabia team Al-Hilal.
PSG left Mbapp茅 out of the opening league game of that season but he soon returned to the lineup following talks. Mbapp茅鈥檚 legal team said on Thursday it will start an action against PSG for harassment because of the way he was treated.
They will also start another legal procedure before an industrial tribunal, while Mbapp茅 and his mother have filed lawsuits for the abuse they received online.
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The Associated Press
