Kylian Mbappe announced on Monday he will not take part in sponsor activities for France ahead of the 2022 World Cup due to a dispute with the country’s football federation over players’ image rights.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker and his France teammates are due to stage a team photo and other sponsor activities at their Clairefontaine training base on Tuesday, but the striker has refused to participate.
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“I have decided to not take part in the photoshoot after the French federation refusal to change the image rights agreement with the players” Mbappe said in a statement.
“My representatives and I fully regret that no agreement could be reached, as asked, before the World Cup.”
Mbappe has previously taken this stance with the French FA. In March, he refused to join his international teammates for sponsor activities and asked the federation’s president, Noel Le Graet, to review the agreement on players’ image rights.
Sources have told ESPN that Mbappe would like to have a say on which sponsors are associated with French players while on international duty — he does not want to endorse some brands, including fast food chains and betting companies, which are under contract with the national team.
A meeting was held in June between Le Graet and Mbappe’s mother, Fayza Lamari, who was accompanied by his lawyer ,Delphine Verheyden, where the matter was discussed. Mbappe’s family and their representatives left the meeting believing a change over the agreement would be made, but that it not materialised.
Le Graet is due at Clairefontaine on Monday to meet the players and discuss the image rights issue.
France, who begin their World Cup title defence in Qatar in November, are scheduled to play Nations League games in this week’s international break against Austria on Thursday and Denmark on Sunday.
