Mbappé Apologises to China After “Chinese Dictator” Joke: Sponsors Leave and Chinese TV Halts La Liga

Real Madrid striker and France captain Kylian Mbappé issued a public apology in French, English and Chinese on Tuesday 27 October 2026, after a remark that angered people in China. Three Chinese sponsors ended their deals with him, China Media Group halted broadcasts of La Liga matches, and Chinese sports platforms removed his name from their Ballon d’Or rankings.

What did Mbappé say?

In an interview for the programme The Bridge, hosted by his teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni, he was asked about his favourite meme. He described an image in which his face was placed on a person he said he thought was a “Chinese dictator”. According to Al Jazeera and Forbes he did not name Mao Zedong, but franceinfo says the image in question features Mao. The clip spread on Monday 26 October, and Al Jazeera said it was filmed in April.

The confirmed reaction

• Sponsors: Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground ended their contracts with immediate effect on Tuesday, and Dongpeng said it has a “zero-tolerance policy” on behaviour that offends national sentiment.
• Broadcasts: China Media Group, which includes CCTV, halted La Liga matches and games involving Mbappé and pulled his adverts. It confirmed this to AFP, according to franceinfo.
• Demand for an apology: an official of the group wrote to La Liga president Javier Tebas on 26 October asking for a public, written apology from Real Madrid and Mbappé, according to The Paper.
• Chinese foreign ministry: its spokesperson said that words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people “will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society”.
• La Liga: it said in a statement that it deeply regrets the offence and that the comments were personal. Tebas apologised on X and said a relationship built over years “cannot be damaged by a single episode”.

Mbappé’s apology

He published a statement saying his comment was “ill-judged” and hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities, that this was “absolutely not his intention”, that he has “deep respect for the Chinese people and their history” and that he is “truly sorry”.

Fallout on platforms and brands (reported by the Chinese press)

• Dongqiudi: it published a statement saying Mbappé’s remarks hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and that it would not translate or publish them. According to Goal.com and Africa Soccer it replaced his name in its 2026 Ballon d’Or ranking, where he came second, with a phrase meaning “there is no such person”. Reports say the wording comes from headlines rather than an official line from the platform.
• Hupu: it deleted Mbappé’s Ballon d’Or ranking, according to Chinese sites.
• On and Dior: Chinese papers, including Dahe Daily, reported that their content about Mbappé disappeared from their official accounts, without any formal termination notice.
• Xiaohongshu: it restricted his account and blocked following, according to Sina.
• CCTV: it deleted its reports about Mbappé, according to Chinese reports.
• AI: one Sina report said Chinese AI models did not show information about him. No second source confirmed it.

Real Madrid’s position

I found no official reply from the club, and Heavy reported that it declined to comment.

The financial impact

franceinfo said the share price of On, Mbappé’s new sponsor, fell about 3.5% before the market opened, a figure taken from press reports.

Claims circulating that JDWELKORA has not verified

• That the platform Migu removed clips of his goals in the Clásico.
• That his face was covered on an advert at Shanghai’s Xujiahui metro station.
• The Global Times piece “Mbappé is in trouble” and what was attributed to Dahe Daily, that he “bit the hand that feeds him”.
• That his annual contracts are worth 30 million euros.
• That Tebas sent a written letter and that the group replied with a second letter in its president’s name.
• The name of the foreign ministry spokesperson: one tweet says Guo Jiakun and franceinfo says Lin Jian.
• That Dior and On formally ended their contracts, since no termination notice was issued.
• The phrase “collective boycott” in tweets about the ministry’s remark, which Al Jazeera translates as “joint opposition”.

Sources: Al Jazeera, franceinfo, The Paper, Goal.com, Africa Soccer, Sina and Sohu.