French star Kylian Mbappe sparked a dispute during his presence with his country in preparation for two friendlies, and prompted the President of the Football Association, Noel Le Graet, to intervene.
Le Graet stated that he would inform Mbappe of his contractual obligations in a letter after the striker skipped a marketing event on Tuesday, telling L'Equipe today, "I asked him to take part in operations with sponsors. At one point he was ready to go and then he said no, I'm not going. What do you want to do?" I do?".
According to reports in local media, Mbappe missed a photo session dedicated to the national team's sponsors, including Coca-Cola and Volkswagen Uber.
"A letter will be sent from the lawyers to the player and his lawyer. We will follow up the problem point by point and we want to improve things and satisfy everyone from the sponsors and players," Le Graet added.
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France (world champions) will play Ivory Coast in a friendly in Marseille on Friday, and Le Graet hopes to discuss the matter with Mbappe, who has not been sanctioned.
"Everything about sanctions annoys me. I don't like that word, but we will have a dialogue and there will be another process with the sponsors in the fall before going to the World Cup. I assure you until then that we will settle it without conflict. Reducing anxiety is part of my life. Kylian will be on the field in Marseille." I hope he looks good."
On the other hand, the 23-year-old's representatives responded with a statement and confirmed that the Paris Saint-Germain star does not seek to lead a "rebellion" within the national team, but hopes to move things that have been frozen for years.
On a quelques photos pour vous ☝️ https://t.co/SK82wxmh4p pic.twitter.com/Dmu4Nz19zF
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) March 22, 2022
According to the statement, any player who joins the national team signs an agreement that includes clauses on assigning his image rights to the sponsors and partners of the Football Association.
Each player receives 25,000 euros for each match he plays for the national team.
He pointed out that Mbappe signed the agreement in 2017, but "this agreement has not been renegotiated since then and is valid for every player until the end of his career in the national team." The terms of the agreement in a way that respects the value of each player.
The statement confirmed that Mbappe's decision does not affect his commitment to the "roosters" and his attachment to the World Cup holder, and indicated that the Saint-Germain player was keen, since his first participation, to donate the money he receives with the national team to charities.