Home / Sports / Mbappe Row: Real Madrid Apologizes to China
Mbappe Row: Real Madrid Apologizes to China
28 Oct
Summary
- Real Madrid apologized for Kylian Mbappe's remarks about Mao Zedong.
- China's state TV suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches.
- Sponsorship deals with Mbappe were canceled by Chinese companies.
Real Madrid has issued a formal apology to China regarding insensitive comments made by their player, Kylian Mbappe, about Mao Zedong. The club expressed regret for any offense caused and aligned itself with Mbappe's personal apology.
Mbappe's remarks, which poked fun at the former Chinese leader, triggered a strong reaction on Chinese social media. This led to La Liga matches being removed from state television broadcasts in China. Several Chinese companies, including beverage giant Dongpeng and dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground, have since terminated their partnerships with the player.
The controversy has also seen Mbappe's accounts frozen on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and Xiaohongshu. Global brands like Dior and Hublot have reportedly removed Mbappe-related content from their Weibo pages, and Real Madrid shirts bearing his name are no longer available at an Adidas flagship store in Beijing.
This incident echoes past controversies involving international sports figures and China, such as the NBA's sponsorship issues following Daryl Morey's comments regarding Hong Kong.
