Kylian Mbappé has apologised for comments about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong that have cost him several sponsorship deals in China, just over a month after new France head coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed him as captain and the driving force of the national team.
"I apologise to everyone who was hurt by my words," the 27-year-old Real Madrid star said in a statement on Tuesday, written in French, English and Mandarin and sent to the French news agency AFP. "That was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry," he added.
The row erupted after a video went viral showing Mbappé discussing memes made about him by fans who jokingly call him a dictator, often depicting him as autocratic leaders. He said the funniest one he had seen was an altered image showing his face on the blue-suited body of Mao Zedong. "I think he was a Chinese dictator," Mbappé said.
Three companies that used Mbappé's name and image announced they were ending their partnerships with him immediately: beverage company Dongpeng, dairy products giant Mengniu and cheese manufacturer Milkground. "Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments," Dongpeng said.
Responding to the fallout, Mbappé said: "During a recent interview, I reacted to an image depicting me. My remark was clumsy, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and within the Chinese community around the world."
Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: "Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society."
Social media fallout
Social media platform RedNote said in a separate statement that its content partnership with Mbappé had ended on 31 December 2024 and that it would remove related promotional materials. Mbappé's account on the platform was not accepting new followers on Tuesday.
The hashtags "Dongpeng ends partnership with Mbappé" and "Several brands end partnerships with Mbappé" topped Weibo's trending list, alongside "Football fans boycott Mbappé," with some users telling him not to come to China.
Dongqiudi, one of China's biggest online football outlets, said in a statement that Mbappé's remarks were "offensive to China and the Chinese people" and "have hurt the feelings of Chinese football fans and the Chinese people".
Spanish response fails to quell anger
Spanish football chiefs moved quickly on Tuesday to distance themselves from Mbappé. "La Liga expresses its deep regret over the offence caused among Chinese supporters by Kylian Mbappé's recent comments," the league said in a statement. "We apologise on behalf of La Liga and all its clubs."
The move failed to quell the fury. China Media Group, which runs state broadcaster CCTV, said it was suspending broadcasts of La Liga matches as well as all fixtures and adverts involving Mbappé.
