FURIOUS Phil Foden axed the social media company behind the tweet calling out Kylian Mbappe.
The Manchester City star, 20, appeared to challenge the Paris Saint-Germain forward ahead of the Champions League semi-final with a tweet from his account saying: “@KMbappe are you ready.”
But the now-deleted message – which did not go down well with the midfielder – was actually posted by PR brand Ten Toes Media.
As revealed by the Daily Mail, Foden broke off his partnership with the company on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the awkward gaffe seemingly aimed to antagonise one of the world’s best footballers.
It was initially thought the post was published without permission but they revealed all social media activity must be approved by the athlete first.
Ten Toes Media are ‘saddened’ by the fall-out but wished ‘special’ Foden well.
The company told told SunSport: “We are saddened with the current situation.
“Since the company was founded we have adopted a process which requires all posts to be approved in advance by the talent / representative – no exceptions.
“They always have been approved – that has been true for four years and is still true today.
“Phil Foden is a special person and footballer and we wish him the very best going forward.”
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Foden, who is to become a dad for the second time, was with Ten Toes Media for much of his short career as the rising England star amassed 1.6million Instagram followers and nearly 500,000 on Twitter.
The ‘sports content specialists’ have Harry Kane, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Victor Lindelof, Vincius Junior and Kasper Schmeichel on their clientele list.
Their website states: “We manage the media profiles and source commercial partners for elite talent and create engaging and authentic content for some of the world’s most renowned brands.
“We put in place rigourous [sic] plans for each client and expertly execute them via social media posting, on-strategy PR and the best media collaborations.
“This results in clients with bigger, better, digital footprints and a clear identity which brands want to align themselves with.”
But they clearly got it wrong with Wednesday night’s tweet, sent just minutes after full-time as City knocked Borussia Dortmund out of the Champions League.
Phil Foden scored the winning goal in both legs to fire his boyhood club into the semi-finals where they face Mbappe’s PSG.
Lads run your own accounts… it’s your voice, not anyone else’s
Gary Neville
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville recently said it was ‘a shame’ that players didn’t control their own social media.
The Sky Sports pundit spoke after several players posted near identical tweets following England’s victory over Albania last month.
The former Three Lions defender, who won 85 caps, said: “Reading some of the England players tweets last night. Do any of the lads post themselves? They don’t sound authentic.
“It’s a real shame they don’t manage their personal connection to the fans and media.”
And this week he tweeted: “I mentioned on here a few weeks ago about players having their accounts run by social media companies.
“Lads run your own accounts! Your independent thought and authenticity is at stake. It’s your voice, not anyone else’s.”
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
