Kylian Mbappe, football’s disruptor who is changing the game on and off the pitch
France’s prolific talisman is ready to cement his place as the game’s biggest star - but the control he takes over his image is causing a stir in the sports marketing world.
Who are the players that will succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the very top of the game in the coming years?
This is a subject that has occupied the football industry for some time.
Brands keen to get in early and sign up the next great star - before they make it to the pinnacle - constantly look at emerging talent and effectively place bets on career trajectories.
A decade ago it looked certain that Neymar was the heir apparent, but the silky Brazilian has not been able to completely fulfil his potential since moving to PSG in 2018.
Luka Modric was the first to break an 11-year Messi-Ronaldo Ballon d’Or duopoly, but is nearing the end of his career.
It’s a similar story for the current Ballon d'Or holder, Karim Benzema, who at 34, could hang his boots up soon.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland is a phenomenon who can’t stop finding the back of the net - but will football’s biggest stage elude the Norwegian as it has done this year?
However, there is one stand out candidate based on his performances so far in Qatar - and the fact, that, unlike Messi and Ronaldo, he already has a World Cup winner’s medal to his name.
France’s Kylian Mbappe is leading the race for the golden boot scoring five goals in just four games, with his overall World Cup tally of nine goals putting him ahead of the legendary Diego Maradona, who managed eight for Argentina.
By many definitions, Mbappe is a disruptor.
Footballers are not supposed to be this good at such a young age, and have this many trophies to their name (the 23 year-old already boasts five Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups and two French League cups to add to the 2018 Fifa World Cup).
But Mbappe is not just rewriting the rule book on the pitch - he is causing a stir off it, by blazing a path to the top and dictating his terms along the way.
Earlier this year, with a long anticipated move to Real Madrid rumoured, Mbappe signed a lucrative three contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain which afforded him an unprecedented level of influence in the club’s strategic direction and decision making.
PSG soon appointed Luis Campos as sporting director reportedly with the blessing of Mbappe who had worked with the Portuguese consultant at Monaco.
The terms of his new deal, put Mbappe into a new stratosphere for athlete earnings, with Le Parisien reporting at the time that the attacker is pocketing a gross salary of €630 million (£552 million) over the course of the three years- figures that have been disputed by PSG.
Kylian Mbappe: the brand
Mbappe is central to PSG’s identity and his talismanic presence anchors the Qatari-owned club to the people and culture of 21st century Paris.
Bondy, where Mbappe was born is just seven miles from the centre of the French capital.
He has become a shining beacon of these often demonised working class areas known as banlieues.
Everything about this remarkable young man is highly compelling from a marketing and storytelling point of view.
It’s no wonder that Mbappe has signed partnerships with a host of brands including Nike, Hublot, Oakley and has been the cover star of EA SPORTS’ FIFA for three consecutive years.
Managed in part by a close-knit team including his parents and with representation from Hollywood powerhouse talent agency WME, Mbappe has also recently launched Zebra Valley - a content creation agency which will provide a platform for young people from diverse backgrounds.
The move adds a purpose-element to his considerable brand power.
Taking control of his image
While the level of control Mbappe exerts over his career is a sign of the times for modern football stars, his assertiveness and a dispute with the French Football Federation (FFF) in September over taking part in sponsorship commitments for KFC France, has triggered a player-power led reform, which is being keenly watched by stakeholders across the game.
The success of an Mbappe-led lobby means the FFF are now redrafting their agreements with players over image rights.
It’s a role that Mbappe seemed determined to fulfil from an early age.
Julien Laurens, one of the leading authorities on French football and a correspondent for outlets including ESPN, BT Sport and RMC Sport, tells The Sports Marketeer:
“Going back many years, the rule with the national team was that, the day you were called up and before you had even played a game for France, you had to sign this agreement at Clarefontaine [France’s national football centre] which stated that you were giving your image rights to the national team. So whoever their sponsors were - whoever they wanted to promote - you had to go along with it.
He adds: “From day one - even at a very young age, Kylian disagreed with that. He always thought it was unfair and was not afraid to make his voice heard on the matter.
“His point was that players have earned the right to be part of the process instead of just having them at the end of the process, with the federation saying, ‘you are going to do this for KFC’, ‘you are going to do this for a betting company or for this alcohol brand.”
“He felt that, before it reached that stage, there could be discussions between the players and the federations regarding the sponsors they are taking on.”
Significantly, Mbappe’s stance galvanised some of the more senior members of the team to join the fight.
“Players like Raphael Varane and Hugo Lloris had spoken of their dissatisfaction before but once Kylian had stepped up, the whole thing gathered momentum.
“So it immediately shifted from Mbappe vs the FFF to the whole squad vs the FFF and they simply could not ignore that.”
The new deal is expected to contractually exempt players from promotional work if they have a clash on religious grounds, for personal reasons or because it’s the same category as a player’s personal sponsor.
For instance, if Ray-Ban become partners with the FFF, Mbappe can opt out of any promotional work due to his personal deal with Oakley.
Laurens adds: “We are waiting for the paperwork to be finished for the new deal, it should be agreed soon - but it’s a significant change in the FFF’s position.
“Sponsors speaking to the FFF also now understand clearly from the start, who will be working with them and who will not. It’s involving the players much more and that’s what Kylian achieved by threatening to not to do any activations or photoshoots if he did not agree with what was being promoted.”
Mbappe’s principled stance when it comes to sponsors that don’t align with his personal beliefs, is why you might have noticed him take Budweiser’s non-branded option when accepting his Player of the Match awards in Qatar, which is something the brand would offer to players who are religiously-opposed to alcohol or under the legal drinking age.
It’s why he has refused endorsing fast food brands such as KFC and betting companies.
Mbappe has a clear idea of what his personal brand should stand for - his position as a role model for young people - and what products do or do not fit with that.
So what does this mean for partnerships in football?
Just like Cristiano Ronaldo moving a bottle of Coca-Cola away from him at a UEFA Euro2020 press conference and imploring viewers; ‘Beber con Agua’ (Drink Water) and Paul Pogba shifting aside a bottle of Heineken at the same tournament, players are demanding they have a greater say in what they are - or appear to be - endorsing.
As rights holders go, this can put national associations and governing bodies in a weaker position than clubs, who, as their main employer, tend to have more fastidious contracts with players and benefit from closer ties.
As footballers have grown more powerful and have become brands in their own right, surrounding themselves with savvier advisors and thinking more about their future, image-rights have become the battle ground between rights holders and players.
It’s not uncommon for new contracts with the most marketable players, to contain clauses which offer the player a greater share - and a greater say - over how their likeness is used.
It means brands increasingly can’t rely on a club or national team partnership to be a trojan horse for getting to a superstar.
It also means that brands in divisive categories (e.g alcohol, fast food, betting, crypto) have to rethink how they activate - either putting a positive message and sub brand at the centre of activation (e,g non-alcoholic or vegetarian options), or go deeper into purpose to align more closely with these socially-conscious players.
And perhaps most crucially, it deepens the need for better due diligence by sponsors when valuing partnerships.
Understand, exactly what - and who - you are getting for your investment.
On Saturday, England’s defence will be tasked with stopping Kylian Mbappe from putting another stamp of class on this tournament, and taking one step closer to winning back-to-back Fifa World Cups.
But perhaps the most significant contribution to football made by Mbappe has come off the pitch already this year.
And finally…
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