<p>MANCHESTER, England — A post on Twitter between high-profile soccer players after a Champions League game has backfired, highlighting the perils of sports stars handing over control of their social media accounts to third parties.</p>
<p>After scoring the goal that sealed Manchester City’s progress to the semifinals, Phil Foden appeared to throw down the gauntlet to Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.</p>
<p>“Are you ready,” read a post from Foden’s Twitter account directed at Mbappe in anticipation of City’s match against PSG.</p>
<p>It was later deleted and the company that manages the social media accounts of Foden, among many other leading players, looks to have had its partnership with the City player ended.</p>
<p>Hours after the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Foden had parted ways with Ten Toes Media, the company posted a <a href="https://twitter.com/TenToesMedia/status/1382974549587812354?s=20">statement on Twitter</a> on Friday saying it was “saddened with the current situation.”</p>
<p>“Phil Foden is a special person and footballer and we wish him the very best going forward,” the statement said.</p>
<p>Ten Toes Media didn’t respond to emails and calls by The Associated Press about the situation.</p>
<p>Without directly referencing Foden, the company, whose clients have also included England internationals Harry Kane and Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, said it has always had a process “which requires all posts to be approved in advance” by the athletes it manages or their representatives.</p>
<p>“No exceptions,” it said. “They always have been approved — that has been true for 4 years and is still true today.”</p>
<p>Foden has nearly 500,000 followers on Twitter. Mbappe has almost 6 million.</p>
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<p>More AP soccer: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/soccer">https://apnews.com/hub/soccer</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>
