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Kylian Mbappe has apologised after facing a major backlash in China over comments about Mao Zedong, with multiple leading brands severing ties with the Real Madrid and France star.
Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during a Spanish La Liga game against Barcelona (Picture credit: AP)
France and Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has apologised for his comments regarding former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which were considered offensive by several brands in the country, and they eventually dropped the footballer from their brand deals.
There were signs of broader repercussions as well, with state-run The Paper reporting that public television was suspending broadcasts of games from Spain’s La Liga.
In the video, Mbappe said that the funniest internet meme featuring him was one in which his face had been photoshopped onto that of ‘some guy: I think he is a Chinese dictator’.
“During a recent interview, I reacted to an image of myself. My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” Mbappe said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Spain’s La Liga issued an apology as well, saying that it ‘deeply regrets the offence that Mbappe’s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans’. The league added that the remarks were made in a personal capacity and didn’t represent its views.
In China, jokes about Zedong, the nation’s founding leader who passed away in 1976, remain taboo. Historians have also blamed his radical policies for mass starvation and millions of deaths.
Chinese beverage giant Dongpeng, which ran adverts during this year’s FIFA World Cup featuring AI-generated pictures of Mbappe drinking its sports beverage, announced that it was ending all ties with the French skipper.
“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” Dongpeng said in a statement.
Chinese dairy giant Mengniu and cheesemaker Milkground announced that they were severing ties with Mbappe as well, who had enjoyed immense popularity among Chinese fans, boasting millions of followers on social media.
‘Dongpeng Beverage Ends Cooperation with Mbappe’ topped the trending topics on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, garnering 430 million views.
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Ask News18Kylian Mbappe was dropped by multiple Chinese brands after making ill-judged comments referring to former Chinese leader Mao Zedong as a dictator in an online video interview.
Ask News18October 27, 2026, 19:11 IST
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