Exclusive: Phil Foden sacks social media company after Kylian Mbappe tweet

Phil Foden has decided to part ways with the social media company who run his Twitter account over a contentious message to Kylian Mbappe in the immediate aftermath of Manchester City’s Champions League quarter-final triumph over Borussia Dortmund.

Foden’s 75th-minute goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Dortmund in Germany on Wednesday night to help set up a mouthwatering semi-final meeting with Paris Saint-Germain and keep alive City’s hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.

Yet shortly after the game, a tweet was published from Foden’s official account to his 487,000 followers that read ‘@KMbappe are you ready?’ followed by a handshake emoji.

It is understood the City and England midfielder and his representatives were left dismayed and disappointed by the tweet — which was posted without the player’s approval and subsequently deleted — and after careful consideration, the decision was taken on Thursday to sever ties with Ten Toes Media, the company that managed the account.

Although Foden and his advisors recognised that some people would find the tweet amusing, they felt it was disrespectful to Mbappe and were unhappy with the tone of the message, which implied he was throwing down the gauntlet to the PSG and France striker.

Sources also indicated that Foden’s focus after the Dortmund game immediately switched to the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday and not the PSG match later in the month. It is believed Foden will now take some time to decide how to best manage his social media going forward.

Ten Toes Media are a respected company in the world of social media and have worked with a host of leading sports stars, including Tottenham and England captain Harry Kane, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. and Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

They are understood to have had a working relationship with Foden for the past three years and recently oversaw the player’s launch on social media platform TikTok.

In a statement issued to The Mirror following Telegraph Sport’s revelation ties had been severed, Ten Toes Media founder Ben Weisfeld claimed the post did have approval from Foden’s team, but accepted the end of their working relationship.

“We are saddened with the current situation.,” said Weisfeld. "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."

Gary Neville, the former Manchester United and England defender, reacted to the controversy sparked by the tweet from Foden’s account by imploring players to run their own social media platforms. “Your independent thought and authenticity is at stake,” he tweeted. “It’s your voice, not anyone else’s.”

Tweet or no tweet, Phil Foden has perfect stage to prove he belongs in same elite tier as Kylian Mbappe

By Luke Edwards

Manchester City’s semi-final against Paris Saint Germain was already a mouth-watering prospect without two of the best young players in the world colliding in their own personal duel.

Phil Foden may be the younger of the two and is yet to achieve the things Kylian Mbappe has done for both club and country, but that did not stop him asking the France international if he was ready for battle when they meet in the last four of the Champions League.

The tweet, which was later deleted amid rumours it had been posted in mistake by a member of Foden's support team rather than the player himself, was good natured and polite.

Nevertheless, Mbappe will undoubtedly want to accept such a public challenge from a younger opponent, regardless of who posted the tweet.

Even a lighthearted comment can create tension in a such a high stakes game, but having played a starring role in City’s win over Borussia Dortmund, this is the perfect stage for Foden to prove he belongs in the same elite tier as the PSG striker.

There is no reason for Foden to have an inferiority complex. He has excelled in every challenge set so far and City should also go into their second Champions League semi-final without fear.

"I am incredibly happy for this club, for this chairman and for the fans, everyone,” said a delighted Pep Guardiola, who had failed to get City beyond the quarter final before this.

"It is the second time in the semi-finals so it is not history in the club, but we start to build it.

"We were brilliant except the first 10 minutes where they were good and we struggled to be brave enough, we were scared of losing something. But when they scored, we were able to get back into the game, created chances and we took things back into our own hands. We played with personality

“We know how tough this competition is every single year. Everyone has quality and this Borussia Dortmund team has a lot of quality. I've said before that on a good day they are able to beat everyone, but it’s about staying in the game. It’s about attitude, it’s about personality, especially in this stage of the competition. We proved we are ready.”

Having lost so many times at the same stage of the competition, Guardiola knows his joy will be short lived. City are good enough to win the Champions League this season, but that does mean they will. PSG were beaten in the final last year and are a serious threat.

“No one wants to let this one go,” Guardiola continued. “I guess you should ask the Dortmund players if they felt the same.

“Everyone wants to succeed in the competition generally, that's why the competition is even harder. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to be successful, everyone wants to score goals.

“It's just tough and [you have] to accept that it’s going to be tough, that is the first step. When you have the right attitude, a good mix of quality in your squad and the right idea, then your chances of being successful are always higher.

“We play the game to be successful. We want to be successful in every single game but that doesn't guarantee that you will be successful.

And Guardiola was also full of praise for his young English forward after he scored City’s second goal of the game and ended Dortmund’s hopes of a comeback.

“He found me [when he scored], he ran past everyone and found me,” said Guardiola. “That's for all the club, all the people that work so hard, to achieve what we have achieved so far.

"We need three wins to win the PL, we are in the semi-finals of the Champions League, we are in semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of Carabao Cup. It is incredible what we have done.”