PARIS — Kylian Mbappé's legal team is going on the attack with multiple lawsuits 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 Mbappé has been authorized to make a precautionary seizure of the money, which was frozen from PSG's bank accounts on Thursday. A legal hearing is scheduled for May 26, he added.
''This 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,'' Mbappé's main lawyer, Delphine Verheyden, said.
''As the months went by, Kylian Mbappé still hasn't been paid the missing 55 million euros. A decision has been taken, this time to go on the attack.''
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 Mbappé's appeal against PSG was not receivable.
Separately, she said that Mbappé has asked the federation to inform UEFA that PSG failed to pay him what he was owed, in breach of the club's salary obligations. Verheyden suggested that if PSG was found responsible it could lose the licence allowing the team to play in the Champions League.
Last October, the French league appeals commission upheld the decision ordering PSG to pay Mbappé the unpaid wages he wants. Mbappé claims the club owes him three months' salary and the last third of a loyalty bonus.