Kylian Mbappé to receive €1.5 million ‘ethics bonus’ compensation from PSG

Mbappé sued his former club for three months’ unpaid salary between April and June 2024, along with ethics-related and signing bonuses. While the original claim was reportedly worth up to €263 million, the court ruled that PSG are required to pay €60 million in total.

Within that €60 million package, €1.5 million comes from the “ethics bonus”. This clause is part of professional players’ contracts in France, designed to reward players for complying with club rules and maintaining behaviour that protects the club’s image. The clause first became widely known through Neymar’s contract at PSG.

Spanish media previously revealed details of these clauses, which include conditions such as no negative comments about the club, no criticism of tactical decisions, no political or religious propaganda, courtesy and availability towards supporters, and bans on betting or gambling related to football or handball, among others.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport: “Clubs are very keen to protect their image. They don’t want anybody going nuclear and criticising the club, which is why they include good behaviour clauses. We’ve seen similar cases with Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong, who had morality clauses with sponsors. Behavioural clauses are quite common in sport.”

Despite the existence of these clauses, several PSG players have previously lost part of their ethics bonuses. Marco Verratti missed payments in 2018 following a drink-driving incident, while Hatem Ben Arfa lost bonuses after failing to attend a mid-season PSG training camp. More recently, Lionel Messi had part of his bonus deducted after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia in 2023.

In Mbappé’s case, the French captain remained quiet on social media and took no public action against the club while still playing for PSG. As a result, he was entitled to receive the full ethics bonus, reported to be €500,000 per month.

Since leaving PSG, Mbappé has joined Real Madrid and has quickly become their most important player. In 2025, he scored 59 goals, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals in a calendar year for the club.