Kylian Mbappé Apologises After Chinese Brands Cut Ties Over Mao Joke

• Kylian Mbappé apologised in French, Chinese and English after a viral video appeared to show him joking about Mao Zedong, calling his comment “ill-judged”.
• The drinks company Dongpeng and the dairy producer Mengniu ended their deals with the France captain, and the cheese maker Milkground also cut ties.
• The Paper reported that state broadcaster CCTV has suspended La Liga broadcasts, while La Liga issued its own apology to Chinese fans.

A Meme Answer Cost Mbappé His Biggest Sponsors in China

Kylian Mbappé has said sorry. In a statement released in French, Chinese and English, the Real Madrid forward called his comment “ill-judged” and said he now understands that it “hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world”. He finished with a direct line to those he offended: “I apologise to everyone my words have upset.”

The apology follows a video that has gone viral. In it, Mbappé was asked about the funniest internet meme he had seen involving himself. He described one in which his face was photoshopped on to that of “some guy”, adding: “I think he’s a Chinese dictator”. The remark was an apparent reference to a meme that superimposed his face on an image of Mao.

Jokes about Mao remain taboo in China. The founding leader died in 1976, and historians blame his drastic policies for mass starvation and the deaths of millions of people.

The Sponsors Walk Away One by One

Dongpeng, the beverage giant that ran adverts with AI-generated images of Mbappé drinking its sports drink at this year’s World Cup, said it was ending all cooperation with him. The company said it has a zero-tolerance policy on any behaviour that offends national sentiments.

Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, and the cheese maker Milkground also said they were cutting ties with a player who, until now, was hugely popular among Chinese fans and had millions of followers on social media. “Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappé” became the top trending topic on Weibo, with 430 million views.

Reaction online was fierce. One Weibo user said the remarks had “crossed the red line”, and others urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappé’s image from its bottles. Dongqiudi, one of China’s biggest online football outlets, called the remarks “offensive to China and the Chinese people”. Zhang Jingqi, a 30-year-old who works at a mall in Beijing, said: “I used to really enjoy watching Mbappé play on the pitch.” Zhang added that the news had left them saying “I have lost that admiration”.

Beijing and La Liga Respond

China’s foreign ministry said it was aware of the reports. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing that “Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with unanimous rejection from all sectors of Chinese society”.

The fallout reached La Liga. The Paper, a state-run Chinese digital newspaper, reported that public television was suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches. It cited sources at the state broadcaster who said CCTV had halted all La Liga coverage and removed every advertisement involving Mbappé. The reports were not yet consistent, though: this weekend’s La Liga matches were still on the CCTV website’s online viewing schedule.

La Liga moved quickly to distance itself. The league said it “deeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappé’s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans” and stressed: “These comments were made in a personal capacity and do not represent La Liga.”

Not the First Dictator Meme He Has Been Asked About

In an interview with L’Equipe last month, the 27-year-old addressed an earlier meme that showed him as a military dictator. He said there was “a part of it that’s funny”, but that another part was “a bit less funny” and he pointed to the damage such people have caused throughout history.

The timing is awkward for a player who finished runner-up to Harry Kane in the Ballon d’Or voting on Monday.

Sport and Chinese public opinion have collided before. The former NBA player Dwight Howard referred to Taiwan as a country in a 2023 video with the island’s then vice-president Lai Ching-te, who is now its president, and Chinese social media erupted. In 2019 the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for the Hong Kong protests, and China suspended sponsorship deals with the NBA and pulled its games off Chinese television for a year. Global sports stars who have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong have previously been dumped by sponsors there. Mbappé now joins that list.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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