Kylian Mbappe’s latest media appearance was full of drama, before he’d even sat down.
The France captain was on duty to preview Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan and repeatedly clashed with reporters.
Mbappe had to defend his defensive work rate and lack of trophies at the Bernabeu in a heated press room.
And he wasn’t even able to cool off with some Gatorade.
Mbappe removes Gatorade bottle before press conference
Before sitting down, Mbappe moved a bottle of the energy drink sponsor off the table and out of sight.
Mbappe is known to carefully manage which sponsors he associates with, having clashed with the French Football Federation on multiple occasions.
The FFF have used Mbappe’s image in campaigns for fast food and betting companies, landing them in trouble with their striker as he doesn’t want to be associated with the products.
And the same can be said for the high-sugar table of Gatorade.
The scenes were reminiscent of a number of sporting greats who have also taken such matters into their own hands.
Ronaldo, LeBron and the athletes protesting drinks
During Euro 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo removed Coca Cola bottles from his press conference table and told those present: “Drink water.”
Later in the tournament, Paul Pogba also removed a bottle of Heineken from his table.
Such scenes are also common in basketball where several NBA players use their status as ‘franchise players’ to protect their image.
The league’s all-time top scorer had a deal with Powerade and after a he was upset about a tweet over his cramps by Gatorade, he took action.
NBA players all had to use Gatorade bottles no matter what they were drinking, and LeBron made a habit of peeling the label off his bottles pre-game.
Klay Thompson has been seen throwing Gatorade bottles out of his media space, while Kawhi Leonard once told the crowd: “Kids don’t need to be drinking that stuff.”
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