Chinese authorities announced they have taken an apology from Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe seriously following remarks regarding former leader Mao Zedong that ignited widespread public anger across the country. The controversy led to the immediate suspension of Spanish football broadcasts on state television and prompted multiple major corporate partners to drop the French player.
The dispute began when a video interview with the French show The Bridge circulated online, showing the 27-year-old player discussing an internet meme that digitally altered his face onto what he described as a Chinese dictator, an apparent reference to Mao. Mocking the former leader, whom historians hold responsible for millions of deaths, remains a sensitive social taboo in China.
In response to the mounting backlash, the France captain issued a formal statement on Tuesday in French, Chinese, and English. His comment was ill-judged, Mbappe acknowledged, adding that he now understands the remarks hurt many people in China and Chinese communities worldwide. He offered an apology to everyone upset by his words.
Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun addressed reporters during a regular briefing on Wednesday, stating that Beijing takes the apology made by the individual seriously. Despite the diplomatic acknowledgment, the commercial and broadcasting fallout continued to unfold.
La Liga expressed deep regret over the offense caused to Chinese fans by the remarks. State broadcaster CMG, which oversees public broadcaster CCTV, confirmed it suspended broadcasts of Spain’s top-flight football league, which ranks as the world’s second-richest football competition behind England’s Premier League.
Corporate sponsors moved quickly to distance themselves from the player. Chinese beverage giant Dongpeng, which featured AI-generated images of Mbappe in advertisements during this year’s World Cup, announced on Tuesday that it had scrapped its partnership with him. Dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground followed suit by terminating their commercial arrangements.
Digital platforms also moved against the athlete. Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu froze Mbappe’s account, which held more than one million followers. A similar restriction was applied on Weibo, where a notice stated the user was banned from following due to violating laws or the Weibo Community Convention. Original mentions of the joke were absent or scrubbed from tightly controlled domestic networks.
Global luxury brands appeared to scale back their associations as well. Searches on the Weibo pages of Dior and Hublot using Mbappe’s Chinese name yielded no results, indicating that related content had been removed.
Physical retail felt the impact of the controversy as well. When reporters visited the Adidas flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun shopping district, Real Madrid jerseys remained available for purchase, but none featured the striker’s name or number. However, unofficial Mbappe merchandise, including jerseys, beanies, and caps, remained accessible through online retail applications like Taobao.
The incident echoes past diplomatic friction between foreign sports entities and Beijing. In October 2019, China suspended sponsorship deals and pulled NBA games from state television for a year after a tweet by Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey expressed support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
State media weighed in on the broader implications of the controversy. An opinion piece published this week in the official People’s Daily emphasized that celebrities stepping onto the global stage must navigate diverse cultural backgrounds carefully. Learning how to respect different nations and cultures is an essential lesson, the publication noted, adding that respecting the history, culture, social customs, and national sentiments of others remains a fundamental principle for cross-border interaction.
