Several Chinese companies have severed commercial ties with French football star Kylian Mbappe following the circulation of a video in which he appeared to make a joke about a meme depicting him as former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
The controversy has also reportedly prompted China’s state broadcaster to suspend coverage of Spain’s La Liga, in which Mbappe plays for Real Madrid.
According to state-run media outlet The Paper, China Central Television (CCTV) has stopped broadcasting La Liga matches and removed advertisements featuring the France captain.
The authenticity of the video could not immediately be established by AFP Fact Check.
In the footage, Mbappe describes an internet meme involving his face superimposed on that of “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator”, apparently referring to Mao, the founder of the People’s Republic of China.
The incident has triggered widespread criticism on Chinese social media, where jokes about Mao remain particularly sensitive because of his central place in the country’s political history.
Although Mao, who died in 1976, is celebrated by China’s ruling Communist Party, historians have also linked his policies to mass starvation and millions of deaths.
Dongpeng, a major Chinese beverage company, announced that it was ending its partnership with the footballer, who had featured prominently in its marketing campaigns.
The company used AI-generated images of Mbappe consuming its sports drink in advertisements during this year’s World Cup.
In a statement announcing the decision, Dongpeng said it maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct considered offensive to Chinese national sentiments.
“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” the company said.
Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, and cheesemaker Milkground also announced that they were cutting ties with the footballer.
The decisions represent a major commercial blow to Mbappe, whose popularity among Chinese football fans had previously made him an attractive figure for local brands.
The French international is widely known among Chinese fans by the nickname “Guigui”, meaning “Turtle”, associated with an internet meme involving the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
The controversy dominated discussions on Weibo, one of China’s largest social media platforms. The topic announcing Dongpeng’s decision to end its partnership with Mbappe reportedly garnered 430 million views.
Some users accused the player of crossing an unacceptable line, with one describing his alleged remarks as “extremely serious wrong remarks”.
Others urged Dongpeng to remove his image from its energy drink bottles.
Dongqiudi, a prominent Chinese online football platform, also criticised the remarks in a statement issued on Monday evening, saying they were offensive to China and its people.
Mbappe had previously addressed a related meme during an interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe in September.
The 27-year-old was asked about an image portraying him as a military dictator and acknowledged that the joke had both amusing and troubling elements.
“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 on Tuesday that it was aware of the reports surrounding the latest controversy.
“Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with unanimous rejection from all sectors of Chinese society,” ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said during a regular briefing.
The Paper, citing sources at CCTV, reported that the broadcaster had suspended all La Liga broadcasts and removed advertisements involving Mbappe.
A search for the player’s name on CCTV’s website reportedly returned no results, although searches for Real Madrid remained available. La Liga fixtures were still listed on the broadcaster’s online viewing schedule for the coming weekend.
The episode highlights the commercial risks international sports personalities face when their comments are perceived as disrespectful to China or its political sensitivities.
Foreign athletes, executives and entertainers have previously faced backlash in the country over remarks concerning Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong.
In October 2019, China suspended sponsorship agreements with the National Basketball Association (NBA), while the state broadcaster stopped showing NBA matches for a year.
The dispute followed a social media post by Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, who wrote: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”
Beijing reacted angrily to the post, which referred to protests in Hong Kong that Chinese authorities described as separatist and seditious.
Adam Zhang, founder of Beijing-based sports consultancy Key-Solution Sports Consulting, said Mbappe’s representatives needed to act quickly to limit the damage to his commercial relationships in China.
“It’s crucial to make a sincere statement. The sooner, the better,” Zhang, who has advised companies on sports advertising strategies, told AFP.
The backlash has also affected the perception of the player among some supporters.
Zhang Jingqi, a 30-year-old mall worker in central Beijing, told AFP that the reports had diminished his admiration for the Real Madrid forward.
“I used to really enjoy watching Mbappe play on the pitch,” he said.
“But ever since this news broke yesterday I have lost that admiration, sorry to say.”
(AFP)
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