Former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo is seeking €8.5 million in damages from the French Football Federation (FFF), according to L'Equipe, after his suspension for barging into a referee was rescinded.
Leonardo, 46, is taking the action after a 13-month ban imposed by the FFF in July 2013 was annulled by a French court last year.
The former Brazil international had been barred from football activity during the suspension and he is now seeking compensation for lost earnings and damage to his reputation.
According to L'Equipe, the figure of €8.5m is based on the €3.62m yearly salary Leonardo earned while working for PSG from July 2011 until the summer of 2013.
Leonardo's legal team also argues that the suspension put an end to their client's "more than probable" chance of taking over as manager of PSG following Carlo Ancelotti's departure for Real Madrid in June 2013.
No court date has yet been set for the case.
During his time at PSG, Leonardo helped complete several costly and high-profile signings including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani.
He left his role shortly after being handed a nine-month suspension following accusations that -angered by the sending off Silva -- he had intentionally bumped into a referee at half-time in a Ligue 1 match in May 2013.
The FFF increased the punishment on appeal before Leonardo took his complaint to an administrative court that annulled the suspension in June 2014.