What is the controversy between Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe and China?

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is at the centre of a controversy in China for his comments on late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which have not only cost him several commercial deals but have also led to state television scrapping La Liga broadcasts.

The backlash highlighted the risks for athletes and brands ⁠in the lucrative Chinese market, where satire about Mao, modern China’s founding leader who ruled the country from 1949 until his death in 1976, remains a social taboo.

Once hailed as a footballing sensation, Mbappe was widely adored in China until the controversy caused outrage among the country’s 1.4 billion people.

Despite issuing an apology, the French superstar struggled to dissipate anger on Chinese social media on Wednesday.

Al Jazeera breaks down the row between Mbappe and China:

A video circulated online showed France’s 2018 World Cup winner Mbappe apparently joking about a former Chinese leader.

While Mbappe did not name Mao in the video, he appeared to say the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face digitally altered onto that of “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.

The video, which shows Mbappe preparing to go on air, was purportedly filmed in April, as verified by Al Jazeera.

The clip was shared by French football podcast The Bridge and widely circulated on social media on Monday. It has since been taken down.

Fans ‌have previously created memes superimposing Mbappe’s face on images of military and political leaders to suggest that he has the power to influence decisions at the teams he plays for.

Mbappe, who has been nicknamed “the dictator” in the European press, said last month that he acknowledged the humour, but did not like being compared with figures associated with tragedies.

“There’s a part of it that’s funny. You can tell that, for some people, it’s all in good fun. But there is another part that’s a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history,” he said in an interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

The “dictator Mbappe” memes began as caricatures of his influence at Paris Saint-Germain, not statements of political allegiance.

By apparently laughing at an ⁠image depicting him as Mao, however, the France captain entered territory in which self-mockery could be perceived as an insult to a country’s founding leader.

Mbappe’s original joke was not reposted – or had been scrubbed – from China’s tightly controlled social media, with state media omitting any references to Mao, saying instead that the footballer had made “inappropriate remarks concerning China”.

But Mbappe has faced a torrent of criticism from China.

“His remarks were hurtful toward China and the Chinese people, so they cannot be translated,” wrote one user on social media platform Weibo.

Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu had meanwhile frozen Mbappe’s account, where he has at least a million followers, preventing him from gaining any new ones.

The same was done on the Weibo app, with a notice stating that “the user has been banned from following due to violating laws or the Weibo Community Convention”.

In China, satire or jokes about Mao are considered disrespectful.

“A remark about an internet meme has triggered a backlash among his Chinese fans, threatened his lucrative commercial relationships and offered a sharp reminder of the ‌‌limits of celebrity influence,” state media outlet China Daily said.

Mbappe – one of the world’s most prominent athletes – has become the latest sports star to fall foul of a faux pas in China.

Many Chinese media outlets condemned Mbappe’s apparent remarks, but did not repeat them.

“What did he say? Many Chinese would rather not repeat it,” the state-backed Global Times said.

“The message from Chinese consumers is clear: respect is not optional; one doesn’t get to profit from China while disrespecting it. Not a chance.”

The French football star was dropped by two major brands in China: Dongpeng and Mengniu.

Chinese drinks giant Dongpeng said on Tuesday it terminated its contract with Mbappe “with immediate effect”.

“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” it said in a statement.

Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, also cut ties with Mbappe, who, until this incident, was hugely popular among Chinese fans with millions of followers on social media.

Some Chinese media reports said global brands like Dior and Hublot had removed their Mbappe-related content on Weibo.

Offline too, the Mbappe brand appeared to be scrubbed from stores.

The AFP news agency said that when it visited the Adidas flagship store in Beijing’s Sanlitun shopping district, Real Madrid jerseys were available for sale, but none bearing Mbappe’s name.

Mbappe apologised for his “ill-judged” comment, saying he understood it hurt the Chinese people.

“My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” Mbappe wrote in a statement published on his social media accounts on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old said he “reacted to an image of myself” during the interview.

“I apologise to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”

The statement was published in French, Mandarin and English.

China said on Wednesday it took “seriously” the apology from Mbappe.

“We take seriously the apology the individual concerned has made,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing.

Yes. China’s state television has halted broadcasts of all matches and events involving La Liga and Mbappe, and all advertisements involving Mbappe have been removed, the state-backed media outlet The Paper reported on Tuesday.

“Mbappe’s team knew, or should have known, what the true cost of Chinese brand endorsements was all about,” said Terrence Burns, sports sponsorship expert and CEO of the T Burns Sports Group.

Global sporting figures who have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong have previously caused controversy in China and been dumped by sponsors.

China suspended sponsorship deals with the NBA while the state broadcaster pulled NBA games off Chinese television for a year in October 2019.

La Liga President Javier Tebas said that he held a meeting with the ambassador of China in Spain to address the situation and “seek solutions that allow us to overcome this episode”.

“Our commitment is to keep working together so that an individual episode does not harm the important advances achieved nor affect the millions of Chinese fans who follow our competitions,” Tebas said in a statement posted to social media.

“China is and will continue to be a strategic partner for La Liga.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Tebas issued an apology and said ⁠La Liga deeply regretted the alleged comments that caused discomfort and offence in China.

The Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that Tebas was considering travelling to China to neutralise the threat of a massive financial loss for ⁠Spanish football.

Tebas and Real share a strained relationship due to a power struggle within Spanish football, but both parties have put aside their differences, acknowledging the potential immediate ⁠and long-term financial repercussions of Mbappe’s comments.

Real Madrid on ⁠Wednesday ⁠issued an apology.

“Real Madrid CF ‌wishes to express its apologies to the Chinese people for any discomfort caused by the recent words of our ⁠player Kylian Mbappe,” Real ⁠said in a statement.

“Our club maintains a deep respect for ⁠China, its history, its culture ⁠and its citizens, ⁠as well as for the millions of Chinese fans who ‌feel affection and admiration for Real Madrid,” the statement ‌added.