Mbappé Loses Chinese Brands After Meme Controversy

Kylian Mbappé has lost three major Chinese sponsorship deals following a viral clip in which he referred to a meme of his face on Mao Zedong’s body. The commercial fallout began after the French forward appeared to call the late Chinese leader a dictator during a broadcast of the French program "The Bridge." Dongpeng Beverage, Mengniu, and cheese maker Milkground announced they are terminating their partnerships with the striker. These companies had been actively promoting him in the region, with Dongpeng’s sports drink brand Bushuila only naming him an ambassador in April of this year.

The timeline of the dispute began with the circulation of the video clip. In the footage, Mbappé described the image as the funniest meme he had seen, identifying the figure as a Chinese dictator. Although Reuters reported it could not independently authenticate the video, the clip spread rapidly on Chinese social media platforms. By October 27, four topics related to the football star were among the top ten searches on Weibo. Mbappé subsequently posted an apology in Chinese, French, and English on X, acknowledging that his comments were ill-judged and had hurt Chinese communities worldwide.

The reaction from Chinese institutions was immediate and layered. China’s state broadcaster CCTV suspended La Liga coverage and matches involving Mbappé. The network also pulled advertisements featuring him and muted his social media accounts on Xiaohongshu and Weibo. People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese communist party’s central committee, reinforced the criticism through its online platform Renmin Ruiping. A commentary on that platform argued that celebrities who cross public boundaries become liabilities for brands and that profiting from the market while offending its people is unacceptable.

High-level figures joined the response. Guo Jiakun, spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated the ministry was aware of the reports. He added that words and actions hurting the feelings of the Chinese people would meet joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society. La Liga also issued a statement expressing deep regret and clarifying that Mbappé’s personal views do not represent the league’s position.

Global brands have reacted with caution. On and Dior reportedly removed Chinese promotional content featuring Mbappé, according to the Chinese news outlet Phoenix. However, neither company announced a global termination of their contracts. As of October 28, neither a resumption of La Liga broadcasts nor the lifting of the social media restrictions had been independently confirmed.

An unnamed representative from China Media Group told the media on October 27 that the group would listen to Mbappé’s words but watch his actions even more closely. The representative urged Mbappé, Real Madrid, and La Liga to learn from the incident and mend their ways. Mbappé had approximately one million followers on each of the affected platforms before the restrictions were placed.