Kylian Mbappé Apologizes After Chairman Mao Meme Joke Sparks Backlash From Chinese Fans

Kylian Mbappé has apologized after he was accused of disrespecting China and Chinese people with ill-judged comments about Chairman Mao.

The Mao Meme Joke That Cost Mbappé Two Sponsors

Kylian Mbappé is trending in China at the moment, and this is the biggest story in the country because he’s been accused of disrespecting China and also disrespecting the Chinese people. Now, this story all starts with the fact that Kylian Mbappé is affectionately known as the general or the dictator because of his supposed massive influence in world football and the amount of control he wants, both at the club level and when he plays for France.

And this has led to a sort of viral clip being circulated on the internet where his face is superimposed on the bodies of famous dictators and generals in history.

Kylian Mbappé Apologizes After Chairman Mao Meme Joke Sparks Backlash From Chinese Fans 1

And it’s supposed to be quite lighthearted and good-humored. Now, what apparently happened is that he appeared on a French chat show called The Bridge, and during this appearance, an image was shown, which was his face superimposed on the body of Mao Zedong, who was the founder of the People’s Republic of China.

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Now, he joked about it, and he said that he’d seen this, and it was his favorite meme of all these dictator and general memes. And this has not gone down well in China at all. It has led to Kylian Mbappé losing two sponsorship deals he has, two very, very big sponsorship deals in China, one with a drinks company and one with a dairy produce company.

And it has also led to the state media in China reporting that the state broadcaster, CCTV, has suspended broadcasts of La Liga games for the time being. It’s a very serious repercussions on Laliga because, Kylian Mbappé plays for Real Madrid.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has reportedly suspended Spanish La Liga broadcasts following backlash over a viral video in which Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé appeared to joke about a meme featuring former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Mbappé and La Liga president Javier Tebas have apologised, while three Chinese companies have ended sponsorship deals with the French footballer. #China #KylianMbappe #RealMadrid #LaLiga
— World Times (@WorldTimesWT) October 27, 2026

Mbappé and La Liga Apologize as China Responds

Now, Mbappe is aware of how serious this story has become, and that’s why this afternoon, he has issued a statement saying, “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologize to everyone my words have upset.”

in China. Millions and millions of people watch La Liga games, and La Liga have moved very, quickly to try and diffuse this situation. There’s been a statement from the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, and it is basically saying sorry a million times.

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He says, “La Liga deeply regrets the dissatisfaction and offense caused in China by the remarks made by Kylian Mbappé. We understand the harm caused by these remarks. On behalf of La Liga, I extend our sincere apologies to the Chinese people. We cannot allow individual actions to damage this relationship, nor can we let more than 20 clubs in our professional competitions and millions of Chinese fans be adversely affected as a result. We’re taking every possible measure and directly engaging with our partners and relevant parties in China to resolve the current situation.

Our commitment to China, the Chinese people, and relevant Chinese institutions remains unwavering. This relationship, built over many years, cannot be undermined by an isolated incident. “So what really started off as an internet joke.

The story has become a really, really serious story. And we’ve also had some comments from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said, “Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with unanimous rejection from all sectors of Chinese society.”

It sounds to me like this story might just go a little bit further then. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to stop here, does it?

Kylian Mbappé and his representatives are obviously trying to control the situation by apologizing. La Liga tried to control the situation by apologizing as well.

It has become a very, very big story in China, and obviously, it is going to have financial implications for the player himself, even though he’s apologized. What La Liga are trying to do is to make sure that it doesn’t have financial implications for them, and what they appear to be trying to do is create some distance between themselves and the player, because that’s clear in their statement.

They’re saying, “We cannot let the words and actions of one individual affect this great relationship that we have built up over many, many years.”