Mbappe loses Chinese sponsors as La Liga airtime halts

A single joke cost Kylian Mbappe more than one million followers on Chinese social media platforms. The Real Madrid forward posted an apology on Tuesday, admitting his comments were ill-judged. He spoke in French, Chinese, and English to acknowledge the hurt caused to Chinese communities. The gesture did not stop the commercial fallout from spreading.

The controversy began when Mbappe appeared on the French show The Bridge. He described finding a meme funny where his face was placed on Mao Zedong. Ridicule of the former leader remains a taboo in China. Historians blame Mao for millions of deaths, a fact that fuels local sensitivity. The clip has since been removed from circulation.

China's foreign ministry responded on Wednesday. Spokesman Guo Jiakun stated that officials take the apology seriously. The statement offered a diplomatic off-ramp but did not reverse the business decisions already made. Beijing’s response coincided with a wider pause in media coverage.

CMG, the parent company of public broadcaster CCTV, suspended broadcasts of La Liga. The Spanish league is the world’s second-richest football competition after England’s Premier League. La Liga issued a statement expressing deep regret for the offense caused to Chinese fans. The pause in broadcasting leaves a gap in prime-time sports viewing for millions of households.

Brand partnerships collapsed rapidly. Beverage company Dongpeng ended its deal with Mbappe on Tuesday. It had used AI-generated images of the player in World Cup ads this year. Dairy giants Mengniu and Milkground also dropped their ties. Dior and Hublot removed content featuring Mbappe from their Weibo pages. AFP searches using his Chinese name returned no results for those brands.

Mbappe’s digital presence in China has been frozen. His Xiaohongshu account, which held over a million followers, is locked. His Weibo account is also suspended, citing violations of community rules. The original meme was either removed or never reposted. Chinese internet users continued to post heavy criticism, including racist comments, on Wednesday.

The physical merchandise market shows a quieter impact. Adidas’s flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun district sells Real Madrid shirts. None display Mbappe’s name. Unofficial jerseys, beanies, and caps with his image remain available on the Taobao app. The backlash follows a period where state media praised his ability and fans called him Guigui, a nickname meaning turtle. The People’s Daily published an opinion piece this week noting that international celebrities must respect local history and national sentiments.