French forward's adviser calls for players' sponsorship duties to be reviewed
Delphine Verheyden, legal adviser to Paris Saint Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappé has explained why the player has decided to boycott his sponsorship obligations with the French national team in an interview with the newspaper L’Équipe.
In the interview, Verheyden (pictured) called for the convention governing French players’ sponsorship obligations to be reviewed before the next photoshoot for the 2022 World Cup in September.
She added that, under the convention, there was a “massive risk that their [the players’] image could be warped”.
Verheyden continued: “A player’s image is a reputation associated with values. These values are notably expressed in the adverts that players accept to do. It’s important that players are in harmony with the advertising in which they take part. For their young audience, they act as role models. This should be handled with care.
“After the [2018] World Cup, Kylian tried, despite the high number of offers he received, to make his own choices. Rather than [promoting] food which could lead to obesity, he made the choice to go for ‘Good Goût’, an organic food brand for children. That doesn’t mean that he himself is beyond reproach in what he consumes, but rather that he wants to take the right message to the youngest audience who are influenced by their idols.”