How much money Lyle Taylor claims Charlton Athletic owe him after he refused to play for the Addicks in 2020 | OneFootball

The striker would eventually sign for Nottingham Forest on a free transfer

Lyle Taylor has revealed for the first time how much Charlton Athletic reportedly owe him in unpaid wages, after he refused to play for the club when the 2019/20 season resumed after COVID.

The 35-year-old, who now plays for Chelmsford City in the National League South, chose not to play the final nine matches of 19/20 because he feared suffering an injury that could put a future transfer in jeopardy.

By that point, Taylor had scored 11 goals in 22 league games, and had netted 25 in 45 the season prior to help fire the Addicks to the second tier.

How much Charlton Athletic reportedly owe Lyle Taylor in unpaid wages

Speaking openly on the Under The Cosh podcast, Taylor explained the circumstances surrounding the unpaid wages and why he ultimately decided not to pursue legal action against Charlton.

He stated, "Now, to this day, Charlton owe me 72 grand (£72,000). No one knows that, it's the first time I've said it to anyone because they stopped paying me. Full stop.

"It wasn't like, 'Oh, we've stopped paying you, but you'll get this and that and whatever back,'" the striker added.

Taylor elaborated further on why he chose to let the apparent debt go unchallenged, revealing that the atmosphere surrounding his decision to leave was so toxic that he feared for his personal safety.

"And because I made the decision I made, I decided not to even bother going after the club for the money because I was like, I'm already hated.

"I lived down by Blue Water and I was getting people saying, 'We're going to egg your house. We know where you live. We'll put fireworks through your door. We're going to do this. We're going to do that.' And I was like, 'What?' So, at this point, I'm going I can't be a****."

It’s worth noting that the financial situation at Charlton during this period was dire.

The south-east London club ultimately made a loss of £1.1m before tax that season, compared to a staggering £10.1m loss the previous year, according to their official accounts.

Why Lyle Taylor ended up at Nottingham Forest instead of Brentford FC

After his first season with Charlton, Taylor sought a new contract that reflected his value to the club. However, then-Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet reportedly refused to budge on wages or accept any reasonable transfer offers.

Brentford emerged as Taylor's likely destination for 19/20, one year before his move to Nottingham Forest, but the Belgian businessman's continued demands saw the asking price balloon from £1.5m to eventually £4m.

Even when the Bees met that valuation, the "plug was pulled on it," according to Taylor on The Conv3rsation podcast.

When the Addicks finally offered Taylor a new deal, it was after the striker had suffered a knee injury during international duty for Montserrat - so circumstances had changed dramatically.

Charlton also rejected an insurance policy against Taylor, who wanted some reassurance that if he was to play - but got a long-term injury - he'd still get paid out.

So, you could imagine the money offered by Forest was eye-watering, considering 12 clubs were reportedly after him before he made his move to the East Midlands as a free agent.