Mbappé Apologizes as China Sponsors End Deals

Kylian Mbappé apologized on October 27, 2026 after a viral interview clip appeared to show him calling a meme depicting him as Mao Zedong his favorite. The clip's authenticity was not independently verified. In a statement in French, Chinese and English he said the comment was ill-judged, that it hurt many people in China and Chinese communities worldwide, and that he has deep respect for the Chinese people and their history. Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground ended sponsorship deals. Dongpeng said it opposes and has zero tolerance for any behaviour that offends national sentiments. Xiaohongshu said its contract had already ended and suspended his account. A Weibo hashtag on the Dongpeng split drew 430 million views. Mbappé had finished Ballon d'Or runner-up the day before. La Liga said it deeply regrets the offence, that the comments were personal and do not represent the league. Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will meet unanimous rejection from Chinese society. The Paper, citing sources, reported CCTV suspended La Liga broadcasts and removed Mbappé ads, while matches remained on CCTV's online schedule that weekend; reports differed on the suspension's scope. Consultant Adam Zhang said a sincere statement was crucial and sooner was better. Fan Zhang Jingqi said had lost admiration for Mbappé. In 2019 China suspended NBA sponsorships and CCTV halted NBA broadcasts for about a year after Daryl Morey's Hong Kong tweet.