Real Madrid issued a formal apology to the Chinese public on Wednesday, addressing offensive remarks made by forward Kylian Mbappe concerning former leader Mao Zedong. The controversy, which ignited a swift reaction across Chinese social media and official channels, has resulted in significant repercussions for the player and the professional league. According to earlier, the state-run Global Times, In an editorial that it was “not difficult to see that the club’s longstanding tolerance of such behaviour has contributed to Mbappe’s latest offensive remarks. Mbappe’s original joke about Mao was not reposted — or had been scrubbed — from China’s tightly controlled social media. Offline too the Mbappe brand appeared to be under threat.
In a video interview for the French program “The Bridge,” which has since been removed, Mbappe discussed his amusement regarding an internet meme that superimposed his likeness onto what he described as “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator,” clearly referencing Mao. Mocking the former leader remains a highly sensitive taboo in China, where historical narratives regarding his legacy are strictly managed. Mbappe is sometimes affectionately referred to as “Guigui,” meaning “turtle” in Chinese, for his resemblance to a character from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie.
Real Madrid released a statement affirming they wish to express sincere apologies to the Chinese people for any offense caused by their player’s comments.
The club emphasized that they stand with the apology issued by Mbappe himself, who expressed regret and reiterated his profound respect for the Chinese populace. In which the player himself expressed his regret for his words and reiterated his respect for the Chinese people,” the 15-time European champions said, the club joins in the public apology issued by Kylian Mbappe.
This followed Mbappe’s personal statement a day earlier, in which he acknowledged his comments were ill-judged and caused hurt within China and among Chinese communities globally.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry noted on Wednesday that they are taking the athlete’s apology seriously. Meanwhile, La Liga confirmed it deeply regrets the offense caused to fans. The state broadcaster CMG responded to the situation by suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches entirely. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing on Wednesday: “We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made. 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.
The fallout has also impacted Mbappe’s commercial partnerships. Chinese beverage manufacturer Dongpeng, along with dairy companies Mengniu and Milkground, have terminated their associations with the player. Furthermore, platforms including Weibo and Xiaohongshu have restricted or frozen his accounts for violating community standards. Online searches for Mbappe’s name on the platforms of brands like Dior and Hublot yielded no results, suggesting a broader corporate retreat from his branding. According to chinese beverage giant Dongpeng, which during this year’s World Cup ran adverts with AI-generated images of Mbappe,, On Tuesday it had scrapped its partnership with the player, as did dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground. With a notice stating that “the user has been banned from following due to violating laws or the Weibo Community Convention, the same was done on the Weibo app.
Offline, the impact is also visible; retailers like the Adidas flagship store in Beijing have ceased selling Real Madrid kits bearing the striker’s name. This reaction mirrors past tensions between international sports entities and China, specifically the 2019 suspension of NBA sponsorships and television coverage following a pro-Hong Kong protest tweet by a Houston Rockets executive. China suspended sponsorship deals with the NBA while the state broadcaster pulled NBA games off Chinese television for a year in October 2019.
Official commentary from the People’s Daily stated that respecting national sentiments and cultural history is a fundamental standard for international engagement. While Chinese state media previously held Mbappe in high esteem, referring to him as a footballing sensation, the current sentiment remains heavily critical, with some social media users labeling his remarks deeply hurtful to the nation. Mbappe, 27, continued to face a torrent of criticism from Chinese web users on Wednesday, some of it racist.
