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Real Madrid have apologised to China over comments by French football star Kylian Mbappé about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, as the controversy threatens the striker’s commercial partnerships and has prompted the suspension of Spanish league broadcasts in the country.
The Spanish giants issued the apology on Wednesday, a day after Mbappé publicly expressed regret for remarks that triggered widespread criticism among Chinese social media users.
The controversy followed a video interview with French programme The Bridge, in which Mbappé spoke about an internet meme that superimposed his face on that of Mao, whom he appeared to describe as a Chinese dictator.
In a statement, Real Madrid said it regretted any offence caused by the player’s remarks and aligned itself with his public apology.
“The club wishes to express its apologies to the Chinese people for any offence caused by the recent remarks of our player Kylian Mbappé,” the club said.
Mbappé had earlier apologised in French, Chinese and English, admitting that his comments were ill-judged and had hurt people in China and Chinese communities around the world.
“My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he said.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Guo Jiakun, said on Wednesday that Beijing took the apology seriously.
The backlash has already begun to affect Mbappé’s business interests in China. Beverage company Dongpeng and dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground reportedly ended their partnerships with the footballer following the controversy.
The impact has also extended to Spanish football. China Media Group, which oversees the country’s public broadcaster CCTV, announced the suspension of La Liga broadcasts, while the Spanish league said it deeply regretted the offence caused to Chinese fans.
Mbappé has also faced restrictions on Chinese social media platforms. His accounts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu were reportedly frozen, limiting his access to millions of followers in the country.
Some Chinese media reports further suggested that global brands Dior and Hublot had removed Mbappé-related content from their Weibo pages, although the extent of any changes to their commercial relationships with him remained unclear.
The controversy centres on Mao Zedong, the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China, whose legacy remains politically and historically sensitive in the country. Mocking the former leader can provoke strong public reactions, particularly when comments are seen as disrespectful to Chinese history and national identity.
The state-run Global Times criticised Real Madrid over what it described as the club’s longstanding tolerance of such behaviour, arguing that this had contributed to the latest controversy.
Mbappé, 27, remains one of football’s most recognisable figures, but the reaction in China highlights the commercial risks international sports stars face when their comments are perceived as insulting a country’s history or people.
The episode also recalls the 2019 dispute between China and the National Basketball Association (NBA), when a pro-Hong Kong tweet by a Houston Rockets executive prompted Chinese broadcasters to suspend NBA coverage and affected sponsorship relationships.
Despite Real Madrid’s apology and Mbappé’s expression of regret, the backlash has raised questions about the long-term impact on the striker’s commercial standing and Spanish football’s presence in the Chinese market.
