Mbappé faces a backlash in China

Three Chinese commercial partners announced on 27 October 2026 that they were ending their cooperation with Kylian Mbappé after controversy over a clip involving an edited image linking him to Mao Zedong. The Real Madrid forward apologised in a statement in three languages. La Liga also responded, as the repercussions spread to Chinese broadcasters and digital platforms.

The first tangible consequences are commercial. Drinks company Dongpeng, dairy group Mengniu and cheese producer Milkground announced on Tuesday 27 October that they were ending their cooperation with Kylian Mbappé. The companies said they opposed words or actions they considered offensive to national sentiment or the feelings of Chinese people.

The announcements bring an end to partnerships that linked the France forward’s name and image with products sold in China. They do not provide figures that would establish his financial losses. The number of agreements ended should therefore not be turned into an estimated bill for the player without evidence.

The controversy began with a clip attributed to the backstage setting of French-language show The Bridge. Asked about memes of himself that he finds amusing, Mbappé refers to an edited image combining his face with that of a man he identifies as a Chinese dictator. The reference was understood as pointing to Mao Zedong, a central figure in the history of the People’s Republic of China.

Mao is not named in the excerpt described. Nor is there evidence establishing that the footballer created the edited image. Those distinctions matter: the dispute concerns his reaction to an image and the response it generated, rather than a work he is known to have produced himself.

The circulation of the clip prompted extensive criticism on Chinese social media. The commercial announcements then became a prominent part of discussions on Weibo. The scale of that attention does not establish that every Chinese football supporter holds the same view.

The player responded on 27 October with a statement in French, Chinese and English. He acknowledged reacting to an image of himself, described his comment as ill-judged and said he understood that it had hurt people in China and Chinese communities around the world.

In his original post on X, Kylian Mbappé wrote: “I apologize to everyone my words have upset.” He said that causing offence had not been his intention and expressed respect for Chinese people and their history. The statement addresses his own words; it does not announce that the cancelled partnerships have been restored.

The dispute has moved beyond the individual image of the Real Madrid forward. Javier Tebas apologised on behalf of La Liga and stressed the importance of its relationships with Chinese supporters, institutions and commercial partners. His public statement set out the league’s intention to work with its contacts in China to address the situation.

Chinese public television also announced a halt to La Liga broadcasts and advertising involving the player. The announcements examined do not give a date for broadcasts to resume. The measure concerns the public broadcaster; it does not, by itself, establish that every way of watching the Spanish league in China has disappeared.

The competition is seeking to limit the wider effects of a controversy centred on one player. Mbappé, meanwhile, faces the task of responding to the backlash and maintaining relationships that form part of his career beyond the pitch.

Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, presents a different case. The platform said its content partnership with the French player had already expired on 31 December 2024 and that it was removing related promotional material. That should not be counted as a fourth commercial agreement newly ended on 27 October 2026.

The controversy follows a highly visible sporting spell for Kylian Mbappé. He scored twice in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win at the Camp Nou before finishing second in the Ballon d’Or behind Harry Kane. Those sporting results do not explain away the issue in China.

What follows will depend on decisions by the partners, the development of the restrictions and the responses from the player and La Liga. For now, the established developments are the three announced commercial splits and Mbappé’s public apology. They show the scale of the controversy without adding unverified financial losses or treating its consequences as permanent.