In the dispute that has been going on between PSG and Kylian Mbappé for several months, the two parties will meet this Monday, November 17 from 1 pm. “directly at the judgment office” of the industrial relations court, without going through the “conciliation” box beforehand. The reason? Kylian Mbappé is demanding, in addition to the bonuses and wages of 55 million euros at the heart of the dispute, the reclassification of his fixed-term contract, which runs from his arrival in the capital in the summer of 2017 until his departure for Madrid in 2024, into a permanent one.
Peculiarities of fixed-term contracts for professional athletes
If, in the general principles of the Labor Code in France, CDDs (fixed-term contracts) are the exception and CDIs (indefinite-term contracts) are the rule, the law of 27 November 2015, article L. 222-2-3 of the Sports Code, stipulates that “CDDs are standard contracts for professional athletes and coaches, due to the special nature of this sector”. It aims to secure the use of fixed-term contracts for professional athletes, for periods ranging from twelve months to five years.
The 2015 Act does not apply to contracts signed before this date. Thus, two supporting groups can commit violations to have their demands recognized. In 2017, former rugby player Patricio Albacete was able to reclassify his contract with Stade Toulouse as permanent, a decision confirmed by the Court of Cassation in 2022. He considered that his employment was permanent and therefore did not fit into a fixed-term contract.
Adrien Rabiot before
The latest and most prominent case concerns Adrien Rabiot. After initial rejection from the Industrial Court, the Blues midfielder applied for the reclassification of several of his fixed-term contracts at PSG (from 2010 to 2019) into permanent contracts last June with the Paris Court of Appeal.
The midfielder accused PSG of taking, during his final year at the club and when he did not want to renew his contract, disciplinary sanctions against him by expelling him from the group and then banning him from playing, as well as not paying ethics bonuses.
The reclassification of fixed-term contracts into permanent ones has become possible, according to the player’s lawyer, Mr. Romuald Palao, to “sanction the club for the arbitrary and unjustified exclusion of a player, who has also been unfairly sanctioned by the club, a sanction that should not exist. » “By requesting reclassification into a permanent contract of his fixed-term contract for a total of nine years at PSG, Adrien Rabiot has just asserted his rights,” he added.
A version confirmed by those around him: “Adrien would not have submitted this request for requalification if everything was going well at PSG. » This court decision opened the right to a series of back payments, compensation and damages in favor of the former Marseillais. PSG was ordered to pay Adrien Rabiot a sum of more than one million euros.
Mbappé and “employees facing bad payers”
Kylian Mbappé’s case is slightly different as he signed his contract with PSG two years after the 2015 law. This does not prevent him from seeking requalification to a permanent contract by trying to prove that the Parisian club did not respect the terms of the contract. “This could work if the provisions of the 2015 law, which generalizes the use of fixed-term contracts for professional athletes, are not respected,” explains Me Estelle Saboury, a lawyer specializing in social law.
The striker was absent from the professional squad at the start of the 2023-2024 season by PSG. He wants to see out his contract until the summer of 2024, while closing the door on an extension at the end. Mbappé was finally reinstated after the first day of the championship.
“There is only one employee facing a loser,” Mbappé’s lawyer, Me Delphine Verheyden, blasted in April, adding that her client was “responsible for ensuring his rights are respected, both for himself and for all other players” harmed by their clubs.
“There is a financial interest,” continued Me Saboury. The reclassification of fixed-term contracts into fixed-term contracts allows for severance pay calculated based on seniority and salary level, benefits in lieu of notice, paid leave upon notice and benefits for dismissal without real and serious cause. In the context we are talking about, the numbers could be very high.”
PSG and the Real Madrid attacking group wanted to provide their comments for the hearing. Injured for the Blues’ game in Azerbaijan this Sunday and back in Madrid, the French team captain will not be present at the hearing. A court decision will not be taken for several months, taking into account the applicable time limits at the Industrial Relations Court.
Which decision will set a precedent?
The decision will indeed be closely monitored. The reclassification of the Real star’s contract would set a precedent and could lead to a modification of the economic model of French professional sport. “A generalization of player contracts in permanent contracts would require clubs to respect the termination rules in the Labor Code, to abandon some of the current flexibility in labor management, and could call into question the transfer of players who could potentially leave freely at any time by resigning like other employees,” estimates the company BCTG, which has a sectoral practice in the field of sports economics.
On the contrary, “this could actually reduce their mobility, not to mention the competitive imbalance between French clubs and international clubs”.
