Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe apologized Tuesday for calling former Chinese leader Mao Zedong a “dictator” in an interview that resurfaced on social media earlier this week.
The comment cost the French national sponsorships with several Chinese brands, including Dongpeng sports drinks and Milkground cheese.
Mbappe, 27, was on the French talk show “The Bridge” this past spring and was asked for his favorite in a series of memes in 2024 that depicted him in dictator fashion.
“A video someone made of a guy … I think he was a Chinese dictator,” Mbappe said, referring to one meme in which his face was superimposed over Mao’s.
The dictator memes were believed to be in reference to Mbappe’s growing control at his former club Paris Saint-Germain. They gained even more traction after Mbappe was transferred to Real Madrid in Spain later in 2024.
Mbappe apologized for his interview answer in a statement.
“My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” Mbappe said.
La Liga president Javier Tebas condemned Mbappe’s comments, apologized to the Chinese people, and referenced the importance of the Spanish league’s relationship with China.
“We are taking the measures within our reach and working directly with our partners and interlocutors in China to overcome this situation,” Tebas wrote in a post on social media. “Our commitment to China, its people, and its institutions is steadfast. A relationship built over so many years cannot be damaged by a single episode.”
–Field Level Media
