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The French players’ union has come out in support of Kylian Mbappe amid his ongoing legal battle against former side Paris Saint-Germain.
WHAT HAPPENED?
A French court ordered PSG to pay their former star Mbappe €55 million (£46m/$60m) in unpaid wages back in October after leaving them for Real Madrid this summer. The French side are engrossed in a legal battle with the 25-year-old over this matter and amidst this struggle, the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP) has backed the France international. The players’ union says they will “never accept” what PSG are trying to do and claim the Ligue 1 club is undermining so much of what football in France stands for.
WHAT THE FOOTBALL UNION SAID
Part of their statement reads: “We could make fun of signed contracts and just as much of regulations, opening Pandora’s box and, in the end, attacking the Professional Football Charter head-on… In other words, the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which many managers consider to be castrating because it hinders their barely concealed plans to undermine social protection, redefine employment contracts, and redefine the conditions under which professional footballers work in France. The UNFP and the players it represents will never accept this. Never!
“But the Charter is not the only one under threat. And it is as of today that the game’s leading players – via their union – are expressly asking the LFP to enforce its own regulations and the decisions of its commissions. And if necessary, they will stand by the LFP to counter the clubs’ obvious desire to limit the League’s regulatory powers as far as possible. This would have the effect of undermining the fairness and integrity of competitions, even if it means going against the fundamental principles of the European sporting model, which has been endorsed by these very clubs.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Despite scoring 256 goals and leading PSG to multiple trophy successes over the years, this looks like it could get nasty between the two parties. After all their triumphs together, this disagreement threatens to end that positive relationship for good.
WHAT NEXT?
While this will continue to rumble on behind the scenes, Mbappe will be focusing on his Madrid’s side trip to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Saturday.