Mbappe’s Mao Jibe Costs Him Chinese Brands, La Liga Banned From Chinese TV
Story By Staff Reporter
Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga have apologised for the striker’s comments about Mao Zedong. Experts warn, however, that rebuilding their image in China will take time.
What Mbappe said
A video surfaced this week showing the France captain joking about Mao. Mbappe said he found an internet meme funny. The meme placed his face on “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator.” The video reportedly dates from April.
China still reveres Mao as the hero of the communist revolution and the founder of the People’s Republic. Historians blame him for millions of deaths. Even so, mocking him in public remains taboo.
How China reacted
Leading Chinese brands have cut ties with the 27-year-old. State broadcaster CCTV will also pull Spanish top-flight matches from its schedule. State media and social media users condemned Mbappe, although many never learned what he actually said.
Within two days, Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga all apologised. A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said the government took the apology seriously.
Experts say the apology is not the end
Veteran sports commentator Yan Qiang called the incident very damaging. He said it harms the image of La Liga and Real Madrid in China. In his view, an apology beats silence, but it does not close the story. Anger spreads quickly on mobile social media, so the row could linger.
The NBA set a precedent
Foreign sports bodies have faced this before. In 2019, then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters. China effectively cut ties with the NBA in response. CCTV dropped the league for more than a year, and NBA preseason games returned only last year.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the split cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars. Australian National University lecturer Debby Chan sees both cases as examples of consumer nationalism. In her view, online sentiment and state media combine to create “a spiral of outrage.”
The NBA did defend Morey’s right to free expression. La Liga, by contrast, distanced itself from Mbappe straight away.
What Spanish football stands to lose
China and the United States together fund the majority of La Liga’s international broadcasting rights, a source said. Those rights were worth 748 million euros ($834m) for the 2024-25 season.
Real Madrid also relies on China for merchandise. Marca reports that the club earns 10 to 15 percent of its jersey and merchandise sales there. Chinese firms Hisense, Kaiyun Sports and Linglong Tire sponsor the club prominently.
Can Mbappe recover?
Adam Zhang, founder of Beijing-based Key-Solution Sports Consulting, says quick and heartfelt remorse is the first step. That response will shape whether the broadcast ban continues and for how long.
Yan doubts that Mbappe’s reputation can fully recover. His face has appeared on drink bottles and in major ad campaigns, including during the World Cup. Yan called the next steps hard to predict and said he is not optimistic in the short term. Future actions, he added, will decide whether the club and league can repair the relationship.
