Real Madrid officially apologized to China on Wednesday following a significant controversy triggered by comments from their star striker, Kylian Mbappe. The player’s remarks regarding Mao Zedong ignited a social media firestorm, leading to the suspension of Spanish league football broadcasts on Chinese state television. According to CMG, which oversees public broadcaster CCTV,, It had decided to suspend broadcasts of La Liga, the world’s second-richest football league after England’s Premier League. Mbappe, 27, continued to face a torrent of criticism from Chinese web users on Wednesday, some of it racist. So they cannot be translated,” wrote one user on social media platform Weibo, his remarks were hurtful toward China and the Chinese people. Offline too the Mbappe brand appeared to be under threat. On soft drinks and across social media, his face is plastered on billboards.
The controversy stems from an interview with the French show The Bridge, which has since been removed. In the clip, Mbappe described being amused by an internet meme that featured his face digitally superimposed onto an image of a person he identified as a Chinese dictator, a clear reference to Mao. Mocking the former leader is considered highly taboo in China, and the incident has positioned Mbappe among a growing list of foreign sports figures to face Beijing’s ire.
In a formal statement, Real Madrid declared it wishes to express its apologies to the Chinese people for any offense caused by their player’s recent words. The 15-time European champions added that the club fully supports the public apology previously issued by Mbappe, in which the forward expressed regret and reiterated his deep respect for the Chinese population.
Mbappe addressed the fallout a day earlier, stating that his comments were ill-judged and acknowledging that he now understands the pain he caused to many individuals in China and among Chinese communities globally. During a briefing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun noted that Beijing is taking the apology from the individual seriously.
The backlash has had swift commercial and broadcast consequences. La Liga, which saw its matches suspended by the state-run China Media Group, issued a statement expressing deep regret over the offense caused to Chinese fans. Additionally, Chinese corporate partners, including beverage manufacturer Dongpeng and dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground, terminated their relationships with the player.
Digital platforms have taken aggressive action as well. Mbappe’s account on the social app Xiaohongshu was frozen, and his profile on Weibo was banned for violating community conventions. Market presence for the player has also vanished in physical retail spaces; an inspection of the Adidas flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun district revealed that while other Real Madrid gear remained available, all merchandise bearing the striker’s name had been removed.
State media outlet The Global Times criticized the club’s perceived tolerance of such behavior, while the People’s Daily emphasized that respecting history, culture, and national sentiments is a fundamental principle for international interaction. Reports also suggest that major global brands like Dior and Hublot have scrubbed their platforms of content featuring the star.
This is not the first time a major sporting entity has faced such repercussions in China.
In October 2019, the NBA faced a year-long broadcasting ban and the loss of sponsorship deals after an executive with the Houston Rockets tweeted support for protests in Hong Kong. Despite the current tensions, Chinese state media had previously praised Mbappe’s talent, and he was often referred to locally as Guigui, a nod to his resemblance to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character. Stand with Hong Kong,” referring to protests Beijing called separatist and seditious, this followed Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey tweeting “Fight for freedom.
