Wednesday, October 28 2026 - Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé has apologised after several major Chinese brands ended their partnerships with him following a viral video in which he appeared to joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. The remarks have also prompted a response from La Liga and widespread discussion on Chinese social media. State-run digital newspaper The Paper reported that public television was suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches.
In the video, Mbappé was asked about the funniest internet
meme he had seen involving himself. He described an image in which his face had
been edited onto that of “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”. The
comment appeared to refer to a meme showing the France captain’s face
superimposed on an image of Mao.
In a statement issued in French, Chinese and English, Mbappé
acknowledged that his remarks had upset people in China and Chinese communities
elsewhere. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many
people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to
everyone my words have upset,” he said.
La Liga also apologised, saying it regretted the offence
caused to Chinese fans. The league said Mbappé had made the comments in a
personal capacity and that they did not represent its position. Mao, the
founding leader of the People’s Republic of China, passed on in 1976. He
remains a sensitive political figure in China, while historians have linked
some of his policies to mass starvation and millions of deaths.
Chinese beverage company Dongpeng announced that it was
ending all cooperation with Mbappé. The company had used AI-generated images of
the footballer drinking its sports beverage in advertisements during this
year’s World Cup. “Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy
towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” Dongpeng said. Dairy
producer Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground also announced that they were
cutting ties with the player.
Mbappé has a large following in China, where he has
attracted millions of social media followers. The phrase “Dongpeng Beverage
ends cooperation with Mbappé” became the top-trending topic on Weibo, drawing
430 million views. One Weibo user described the remarks as having crossed a
“red line”, while others called on Dongpeng to remove Mbappé’s image from its
bottles. Dongqiudi, one of China’s largest online football platforms, said the
comments were offensive to China and the Chinese people.
In an interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe last
month, Mbappé had discussed a separate meme portraying him as a military
dictator. He said part of it was funny, but added that another part was less
amusing because of the harm such figures had caused throughout history. China’s
foreign ministry said it was aware of the reports about Mbappé.
“Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese
people will naturally be met with unanimous rejection from all sectors of
Chinese society,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular briefing. The
controversy came as Mbappé finished runner-up to Harry Kane in Monday’s men’s
Ballon d’Or award.
0 Comments