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

Kylian Mbappé has apologised after the Real Madrid forward was dropped by a number of Chinese brands for joking about Mao Zedong in a video that has gone viral.

There were also signs of broader repercussions, with the state-run Chinese digital newspaper The Paper reporting that the public broadcaster is suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches.

The video shows Mbappé saying the funniest internet meme he had seen involving him was of his face Photoshopped on to “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”, referencing a meme of Mbappé superimposed on an image of Mao.

“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,” Mbappé said in a statement released in French, Chinese and English.

The Spanish league also apologised, saying it “deeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappé’s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans. These comments were made in a personal capacity and do not represent La Liga.”

In China, jokes about Mao, the country’s founding leader who died in 1976 – and whose policies are blamed by historians for mass starvation and millions of deaths – remain taboo.

Drinks giant Dongpeng, which ran adverts during the World Cup that featured AI-generated images of Mbappé consuming its sport drink, said it was terminating all co-operation with the France captain. “Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” the company said in a statement.

Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, and cheese maker Milkground also said they were cutting ties with Mbappé, who until now was hugely popular among Chinese fans with millions of social media followers.

“Dongpeng Beverage ends co-operation with Mbappé” was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo, with 430 million views. One Weibo user said the “extremely serious wrong remarks ... crossed the red line” and others urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappé’s image from their bottles. Dongqiudi, one of China’s biggest online football outlets, said Mbappé’s remarks were “offensive to China and the Chinese people”.

In an interview with the French sports newspaper L’Equipe last month, the 27-year-old Mbappé addressed a previous meme depicting him as a military dictator. “There’s a part of it that’s funny ... but there is another part that’s a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history,” he said.

China’s foreign ministry said it was aware of the reports regarding Mbappé, who on Monday finished runner-up to Harry Kane for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. “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 briefing.

The Paper cited sources at the state broadcaster, CCTV, saying broadcasts of La Liga games have been suspended and all advertisements involving Mbappé have been removed. On the CCTV website, La Liga matches scheduled for this weekend were still on the online viewing schedule. – Guardian