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Kylian Mbappe hides Budweiser's name in man of the match photos for THIRD time

  /  autty

Kylian Mbappe continues to hide Budweiser's branding in post-match photos after winning his third Player of the Match award at the World Cup.

Mbappe's brace against Poland in the last-16 inspired France to victory, booking a quarter-final date with England, was his third of the Qatar tournament so far.

But much of the intrigue surrounds Mbappe's continued decision to rotate the trophy so the trophy's sponsor, Budweiser, is not visible in photographs.

It was noted after he picked up the gong against Australia and Denmark and he again snubbed any promotion of the alcohol branding after claiming the award against Poland.

A report in L'Equipe, via AS, this week detailed how the decision is deliberate on behalf of Mbappe with a stipulation in his image rights not to advertise alcoholic drinks, as well as sports betting and junk food.

Mbappe is one of the most prominent players in the world and as such he takes his position as a role model to kids seriously.

The report adds that the France striker does not want to damage his image by promoting an alcoholic drink such as Budweiser to the next generation.

Other big names to collect the award, including England's Harry Kane and Wales's Gareth Bale, have had no issue posing for photos with branding on display.

Sportsmail exclusively reported earlier in the tournament that leading bookmakers have stopped taking bets on the winner of the man of the match award amid fears of a fixing scam that could cost them millions.

The award is decided by a public vote on FIFA's website, so is open to manipulation, and Sportsmail has uncovered evidence of social media tipsters urging their tens of thousands of followers to vote for players they have placed a bet on.

The man of the match market doubled in value two weeks ago with FIFA doing nothing to stop such interference.

There can be few arguments about Mbappe sweeping three of the awards so far having been the stand-out player with the most goals so far in Qatar.

But nonetheless, it is tricky for Budweiser to see their branding overlooked by one of the game's biggest names.

It has been a difficult tournament so far for Budweiser, who have not been able to sell beer in the stadiums because of Qatar's stance on alcohol.

As a result of the ban, thousands of Budweiser beer cans were left piled up at a warehouse.

Sportsmail reported last month that Budweiser were seeking around $47million from FIFA after the U-turn decision to prohibit beer inside stadiums at the World Cup.