While some footballers arrive with their reputation preceding them, some - like Adrien Rabiot - can arrive with a parent's reputation preceding them.
France international midfielder Rabiot has been linked with Manchester United as the club seek alternatives to longer-term target Frenkie de Jong. Ironically, Rabiot is partly in the shop window because his current club Juventus have picked up his compatriot Paul Pogba from United over the summer.
If United do end up moving for the 27-year-old, they know his arrival would likely see his mother and agent Veronique take a very active interest in his activities in England. And she certainly has previous in this regard.
Veronique is reportedly set on speaking directly to United chief John Murtough, rather than any intermediaries, as she seeks the best deal for Adrien. And, if things turn south at any point, the English club can expect plenty of noise about it.
A 'prisoner' at PSG
Adrien Rabiot was a well-travelled youngster, spending time with Manchester City's academy as well as stints on the books of multiple French clubs. It was at Paris Saint-Germain, though, where he made his breakthrough.
The midfielder was just 17 when he made his PSG debut under Carlo Ancelotti, and he was part of the team which beat Barcelona 4-0 at the Parc des Princes before the Catalan club completed a dramatic Champions League comeback. However, by 2019, the relationship between club and player - or at least club and agent - had soured.
"Adrien is a prisoner!" Veronique told L'Equipe (via Goal ) in the final months of her son's contract. Adrien, 23 at the time, had been frozen out of Thomas Tuchel's first team after being linked with a number of European giants, and his mother really leant into the analogy.
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"He is even held hostage by PSG," she continued. "Soon it will be dry bread, water, and a dungeon! This environment is cruel.
"They want him to put on his pajamas at nine o'clock, before the game, in front of his TV, to go to bed at eleven o'clock!"
International ill will
After being on the standby list for Euro 2016, Rabiot made his senior international bow a few months later. However, when it came to the 2018 World Cup, mother and son reportedly agreed a standby spot would no longer do.
The midfielder had been a regular for PSG in the 2017-18 season, playing 50 times under Unai Emery as Les Parisiens won Ligue 1 but fell to Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League. At international level, though, the likes of N'Golo Kante and Steven Nzonzi beat him to a place in Didier Deschamps' squad.
"If I have decided to withdraw from the list of reservations it is because I consider the choice of the recruiter in my regard does not respond to any sporting logic because for all these years the message was clear, it is the performances in the club that open the doors to the French national team," the the then-PSG man said at the time (per The Star ). "I am a competitor, but also a man and I would like to be considered as such (...) and finally I will assume all the consequences of my choice with the support of family and relatives."
Rabiot didn't play again for Les Bleus in the rest of 2018 or all of 2019. He was back in the picture by the next European Championships, though, having left PSG for Juventus, but that's when we saw the next intervention.
Bad blood at the Euros
After winning the World Cup without Rabiot, Deschamps' side were among the favourites for the European Championships in 2021. After coming through a tough group, finishing above Germany, Portugal and Hungary, a last-16 tie against Switzerland was the reward.
With 10 minutes left, France were 3-1 up and seemingly cruising to victory. It wasn't to be, though, with their opponents taking the game to penalties and prevailing after Yann Sommer saved from Kylian Mbappe.
As reported by The Athletic, the scenes among the French players' entourage threatened to overshadow the result. And, yes, Veronique Rabiot was involved.
The dispute reportedly involved members of Paul Pogba's group questioning a mistake from Adrien, with Veronique - for her part - blaming Pogba for his part in Mario Gavranovic's late equaliser for the Swiss. A "heated exchange" followed, and by "heated" we're talking 20 minutes or so, with more than one reported target.
Both of Mbappe's parents were said to have born the brunt of Veronique's anger, with The Athletic referencing a dispute with Mbappe's mother Fayza Lamari with others left shocked. ESPN also cited multiple sources suggesting she told Wilfried Mbappe to speak with his "arrogant" son.
The following year, Veronique Rabiot was asked about the incident in an interview with Ouest-France (via Marca ). She was unable to share too many details, but appeared to have a good reason for that.
"I can't speak about [the incident], there is a procedure underway," she said. "Now, when there is defamation, invasion of intimacy or insults, I go to court."
The background
In that same Ouest-France interview, Veronique attempted to give some background to her outspoken nature. "The image of the child with his mother does not reflect reality at all," she argued.
"I am an authoritarian person, it is true. But not what is described in the media.
"I think it [the media reputation] has to do with the fact that we don't talk to journalists enough. So they lament us. But I have a thick skin. I have nothing to prove, we have nothing to prove."
A source with close knowledge of the Rabiot family also told The Athletic about some further background which adds context. Adrien's father suffered from locked-in syndrome for much of his son's life, leaving Veronique to raise her sons "singlehandedly".
“She stands her ground. She goes overboard but she raised her boys and took her son everywhere for football, no matter if it was minus five degrees and snow. And she is an honest woman," the source said.
"She gives money to church. She was (from a) very poor upbringing. She is really hard-nosed. She is not a prima donna. She gives back to people who helped her before.
"Is she too loud? Yes. But she has a lot of baggage. The context is everything. She is not a bad person. And she will always defend her son to death.”
