"If he does not accept the operation he will have no money, that's all", launched the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) on Sunday in L'Equipe, irritating Mbappé and his entourage.

Le Graët evoked the episode of the refusal of the star to participate in March in a marketing event of the Blues.

It was "to move the lines", explained the Mbappé camp, which has been asking for four years to discuss the agreement again.

The player's entourage explains that if he wants more, it is not for his pocket but to redistribute it entirely to works in amateur football.

Since the Braillard law, what is known in everyday language as the "bonus" for players in the France team, 25,000 euros per match, is in fact an image right.

The star is obviously requested by all the sponsors among the five players necessary to trigger the use of collective image rights.

There have been some abuses, like one of these partners of the Blues using a life-size cardboard silhouette of Mbappé with four players pinned on it in thumbnail format to arrive at the count of five …

"Mbappé asks for a right of inspection"

"Beware of the misunderstanding", explains to AFP Gaël Mahé, match agent and sports agent, "Mbappé and his advisers only ask for a right of inspection, they do not question the right to the image in the France team, only that he can say no to certain activities that are not related to his values".

On the other hand, the agent believes that this "commercial tussle harms the image of the player", that he "may be wrong to put himself out of the game by seeming to ask for more than other players. , even if the money is not for him. The France team is a heritage."

Kylian Mbappé with the France team against Finland in World Cup qualifying, November 16, 2021 in Helsinki FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives

The subject is in any case crucial for the 2018 world champion (23 years old), solicited by the biggest brands, in particular as the World Cup-2022 approaches.

"This subject of image rights is at the heart of the sports business," lawyer Didier Poulmaire told AFP.

Article L 222-2-10-1 of the Sports Code which also allows players to be paid for image rights "unfortunately does not apply to relations between sports federations and the selected", specifies the fiduciary lawyer , very active in the world of sport.

In this regard, "the relationship between the FFF and Mbappé therefore remains subject to the conclusion of a specific contract relating to the conditions of exploitation of his image rights", he explains.

"A chance for French sport"

"The Mbappé clan is certainly right to defend its image rights, but the FFF for its part is right to maintain a homogeneous approach to this subject, not only with all the other players but also with regard to the collective interest. , which is the raison d'être of a federation", continues Poulmaire.

But for the lawyer, this "apparent problem is in fact a chance for French sport, the opportunity to develop the relationships that the FFF establishes with the players in order to bring them into the modern era, that (of the network social) Tik-Tok and NFTs", these tamper-proof digital assets.

PSG star striker Kylian Mbappé against Troyes at the Parc des Princes, May 8, 2022 FRANCK FIFE AFP

The player and his entourage did not appreciate that the affair was in the public square, nor the timing of Le Graët's intervention.

But the question of his Mbappé image rights is also in broad daylight in Spain.

Seen from Madrid, she is the sticking point of the hypothetical transfer to Real of the French prodigy, who has still not extended his contract at Paris SG ending at the end of June.

According to the Spanish daily El Pais, in mid-March, after the elimination of PSG by Real, the "White House" made a new offer to Mbappé: 180 million euros in signing bonus and an annual net salary of 40 M EUR (figures considered fanciful by the player's entourage as well as by PSG), and 50% of his image rights, as for all his players.

But the Mbappé camp would prefer 100%, which PSG offers.

According to some sources, Real would be ready to negotiate a 60-40 split in favor of Mbappé.

Enough to convince the star?

© 2022 AFP