Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé caught the room off guard at the press conference before Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Inter, producing a gesture that echoed famous moments from major stars, chief among them Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James.
According to the newspaper Marca, the France captain shifted a bottle of a sports drink away from in front of him during the session at Valdebebas, then placed the water bottle in its spot before the cameras.
He had done this sort of thing before. Mbappé follows a clear policy on the products he appears alongside, especially alcoholic drinks, fast food and anything he does not wish to promote.
A moment that recalled Cristiano's gesture
The gesture instantly brought to mind Cristiano Ronaldo's famous move during Euro 2020, held in 2021.
Back then, the Portugal captain pushed two bottles of fizzy drink away from in front of him during a press conference, raised a bottle of water and said: "Water yes, this no."
His stunt spread around the world, a clear example of how football stars can shape the commercial image of tournaments and their sponsors.
LeBron did it before everyone
Ronaldo did not start the trend of clearing sponsors' products off the press conference table. Its roots run back to the world of basketball, and specifically to the American star LeBron James.
During the 2014 NBA Finals, LeBron suffered severe muscle cramps in a match against the San Antonio Spurs. That prompted the league's sponsoring company to wade into the crisis with a tweet that stirred wide controversy, saying: "We were ready, but the player who suffered the cramps does not consume our product."
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Ever since, LeBron's name has been tied to repeated moments where he made a point of hiding or removing the company's logo from the bottles in front of him during press conferences, given his links to a rival brand.
He was not alone. Other basketball stars, such as Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson, took similar stances towards sponsors' products.
Mbappé and protecting his image
Per Marca, Mbappé's gesture fits his fierce concern for his image rights and the products he is commercially associated with.
The France forward had already drawn attention at the 2022 World Cup, when he would avoid appearing clearly with the logo of the official sponsor of the man of the match award, sticking to his policy of not linking his image to alcoholic drinks, betting or certain food products and fast food.