Kylian Mbappé apologises after being dropped by Chinese brands for Mao Zedong comment

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.