Mbappé in Trouble! Three Chinese Brands Drop Football Star After Mao Zedong Controversy

French football superstar Kylian Mbappé has apologised after referring to Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong as “some guy, I think he’s a Chinese dictator” while discussing a meme featuring himself. The remarks sparked a backlash in China, with three major brands ending their partnerships with the Real Madrid forward.

“My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” Mbappé said in a statement on Tuesday. He expressed deep respect for the Chinese people and their history and apologised to everyone offended by his words.

The controversy erupted after a video circulated on social media showing Mbappé being interviewed ahead of his appearance on the French online talk show ‘The Bridge’. Asked about his favourite meme featuring himself, the footballer recalled a video of a man he believed was a Chinese dictator. The clip then showed an edited image of Mbappé’s face superimposed on Mao’s body.

Football fans online have circulated similar memes portraying Mbappé as an authoritarian leader, joking about his perceived dominance over teammates and the teams he plays for.

Chinese beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese producer Milkground announced on Tuesday that they were ending their agreements with the footballer. Their statements cited opposition to words and actions that hurt national sentiment, although they did not explicitly identify the remarks as the reason for their decisions.

China Media Group suspended broadcasts of Spanish league matches and other games featuring Mbappé, removed advertisements featuring him and demanded an apology from both the player and Real Madrid.

Spain’s La Liga said the comments were made in a personal capacity and did not represent the league. It also pledged to develop a communication protocol to prevent similar incidents.

Chinese social media platform RedNote said it would remove promotional material featuring Mbappé and barred his account from accepting new followers.

Mao, who founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949, remains revered by many, but his legacy is also marked by authoritarian rule and the Great Leap Forward, a campaign that contributed to a devastating famine. The controversy prompted calls to boycott Mbappé on Chinese social media.