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Salt Bae and Emmanuel Macron caught in awkward exchange with Messi and Mbappe after World Cup final

Salt Bae was slammed for touching the World Cup trophy while Emmanuel Macron was criticized for cringeworthy pats on Kylian Mbappe's head

LUSAIL, QATAR: After Argentina's historic World Cup win on December 18, a video has gone viral that showed Lionel Messi trying his best to avoid Turkish chef Salt Bae. Another star of the match who unfortunately could not emerge on the winning side, France's Kylian Mbappe appeared desperate to shrug off French president Emmanuel Macron's repeated awkward attempts to console him. 

Chef Salt Bae was shown trying desperately to get close to the 35-year-old by putting his hand on his shoulder and forcing him to unwillingly shake his hand despite his obvious concern, before pulling him back again. Fans have angrily questioned why the 39-year-old entrepreneur whose real name is Nusret Gokce was allowed on the pitch in the Twitter video captioned "Even Messi knows salt bae is a hack". The Paris Saint-Germain star scored twice and led his South American side cross the line on Sunday night by defeating France 4-2 on penalties at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.

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One fan said, "F***ng absurd. Who let Saltbae out on the pitch? Saw a bunch of photos of him HOLDING the World Cup trophy, and even a picture of him biting on a medal. At least Messi knew not to give that guy trying to make THEIR moment about HIM any attention. Desperately grabbing Messi." Salt bae also approached another major player in the Argentinian team, Angel Di Maria, as he posed for a video with the winger and said "Wow" while they held the trophy together. 

Salt Bae was surprisingly seen knocking the precious gold trophy with a silver ring he was wearing leaving Maria completely amused next to him. Another fan posted, "Somebody actually let SaltBae touch the World Cup and he smacked it," followed by a crying emoji. Only a 'very select group of people' can touch the trophy including the winners and heads of the state according to FIFA guidelines.

Meanwhile, in the France camp, there were similarly awkward scenes. Mbappe who scored three goals for his team in the finals walked away from Macron, as the politician supportively spoke to him. Later, the French president tried to console Mbappe during the post-match presentation when he received his runners-up medal and golden boot. "It's extraordinary what Mbappé did, but the whole team," Macron told RMC Sport. "Mbappe is a great player but he's young. I told him he's only 23, he was the World Cup top scorer, he's won a World Cup, he's been to a final. I was as sad as him. I told him he'd made us very proud, and in the end we've lost a football match, we came so close. That's how it is in sport." 

One user said, "Macron is utterly desperate for a reaction from Mbappe but in three major efforts, the striker gives him no eye contact, and no photo opportunity." Another said, "Mbappè blanking Macron is possibly the best goal of the final."

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