Real Madrid has apologised to China over controversial remarks by its forward Kylian Mbappe about former leader Mao Zedong, as the incident continues to generate backlash and threaten the football star’s commercial interests in the Asian country.
The Spanish club issued a statement on Wednesday expressing regret over the comments, which have triggered widespread condemnation online and prompted Chinese state broadcaster CCTV to suspend the transmission of La Liga matches.
The controversy began after Mbappe joked about an internet meme featuring his face superimposed on the image of a Chinese dictator, an apparent reference to Mao, whose rule remains a highly sensitive subject in China.
In its statement, Real Madrid said it regretted any offence caused by the remarks and aligned itself with the apology already issued by the French international.
“The club wishes to express its apologies to the Chinese people for any offence caused by the recent remarks of our player Kylian Mbappe,” the club said.
It added that Mbappe had expressed regret and reaffirmed his respect for the Chinese people.
The 27-year-old forward had apologised on Tuesday in French, Chinese and English, acknowledging that his comments were inappropriate and had hurt people in China and Chinese communities worldwide.
“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.
The remarks were made during a video interview with French programme The Bridge. The clip, which has since been taken down, showed the player discussing a meme that had his face edited onto the image of a man he described as a Chinese dictator.
Although Mao’s government has been blamed by historians for millions of deaths, mocking the former leader is considered taboo in China.
China’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged Mbappe’s apology on Wednesday, with spokesman Guo Jiakun saying Beijing took the matter seriously.
“We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made,” Guo told journalists at a regular briefing.
However, the apologies have not immediately halted the backlash, which has spread from social media to broadcasting and commercial partnerships.
China Media Group, the organisation responsible for CCTV, announced that it had suspended broadcasts of La Liga, one of the world’s wealthiest football competitions.
The Spanish league, meanwhile, expressed regret over the offence caused to Chinese supporters.
“La Liga deeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappe’s recent comments have caused among Chinese fans,” the organisation said on Tuesday.
The incident has also affected Mbappe’s relationships with Chinese commercial partners.
Dongpeng, a major Chinese beverage company that featured artificial intelligence-generated images of the footballer in advertisements during this year’s World Cup, announced that it had ended its partnership with him.
Dairy companies Mengniu and Milkground also reportedly severed their commercial relationships with the striker.
The state-run Global Times newspaper criticised Real Madrid over the episode, arguing that the club’s longstanding tolerance of similar behaviour had contributed to Mbappe’s latest remarks.
On Chinese social media, the player has faced a barrage of criticism, with some posts containing racist abuse.
His original comments about Mao were not visible on China’s tightly controlled online platforms, where the material appeared to have been removed or was not being circulated.
Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media application, froze Mbappe’s account, which has more than one million followers. His account on Weibo was also restricted, with a notice citing violations of laws or the platform’s community rules.
There were also reports that international luxury brands Dior and Hublot had removed Mbappe-related content from their Weibo accounts. An AFP search of the brands’ pages using the player’s Chinese name returned no results.
The controversy appears to be affecting his commercial visibility in China, where the Real Madrid forward has enjoyed considerable popularity.
During a visit to an Adidas flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun shopping district, AFP found Real Madrid jerseys available for sale, but none bearing Mbappe’s name.
Chinese state media have previously praised the Frenchman as a football sensation and celebrated his sporting talent. His image has featured prominently on advertising billboards, drinks packaging and social media campaigns.
Some Chinese fans affectionately call him “Guigui”, meaning turtle, because of his perceived resemblance to a character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise.
The dispute recalls previous tensions between China and international sporting organisations over politically sensitive statements.
In October 2019, China suspended sponsorship agreements involving the National Basketball Association, while CCTV stopped broadcasting NBA games for a year after Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong”.
The message referred to protests in Hong Kong that Beijing described as separatist and seditious.
The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, also weighed in on the Mbappe controversy, emphasising the need for foreigners to respect Chinese history and national sentiment.
“Respecting the history, culture, social customs and national sentiments of others is a fundamental principle for cross-border interaction, a standard of conduct widely upheld by the international community,” the newspaper said in an opinion piece.
While Real Madrid and Mbappe have both issued apologies, the episode has raised questions about the potential consequences for the club’s commercial interests and the player’s standing among Chinese supporters.
It also underscores the risks international sports stars and their commercial partners face when public comments clash with political and cultural sensitivities in major markets.
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