Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has sacked the social media company behind the tweet sent to Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.

This is according to The Daily Telegraph’s James Ducker, who understands that Foden and his representatives were left ‘dismayed and disappointed’ by the tweet.

Shortly after City beat Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night to set up a Champions League semi-final clash against PSG, a message sent from Foden’s account to Mbappe’s read: “are you ready” followed by a handshake emoji.

Although a fairly innocuous message, the tweet soon went viral across various social media platforms.

It gave the impression that Foden, brimming with confidence after scoring the winner against Dortmund, was sending a direct challenge to one of the world’s best footballers.

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The Daily Telegraph’s report states that ‘after careful consideration' the decision was taken on Thursday to ‘sever ties’ with Ten Toes Media, the company behind the tweet.

This incident raises questions about the way footballers hire companies to produce social content on their behalf.

The Daily Mail understand that players are paying as much as £4,000 a month to outsource their social media activity.

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But former Manchester United captain-turned-pundit Gary Neville, who didn’t even have an agent during his playing days, believes it’s important that footballers run their own accounts.

“I mentioned on here a few weeks ago about players having their accounts run by social media companies,” Neville tweeted. “Lads run your own accounts! Your independent thought and authenticity is at stake. It’s your voice, not anyone else’s. Morning by the way. Go and attack the hell out of it.”

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The retired footballer also tweeted a similar message during the recent international break.

“Reading some of the England players tweets last night. Do any of the lads post themselves?” Neville asked. “They don’t sound authentic. It’s a real shame they don’t manage their personal connection to the fans and media. #independentthinkers.”

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Indeed, some footballers have enhanced public perception of themselves by allowing their true personalities to shine on platforms like Twitter.

That said, others have found themselves getting into trouble after sending ill-advised tweets, so it’s understandable why some footballers prefer to play it safe.

However, that particular tactic hasn’t worked out in Foden’s favour on this occasion.