Mbappé Loses Chinese Brand Deals After Viral Meme Comments
Sponsors including Dongpeng Beverage and Mengniu ended their partnerships with the Real Madrid striker following a statement that called Mao Zedong a dictator.
By Nikhil Petrov ·
Kylian Mbappé lost three major Chinese commercial partnerships on Tuesday after a video of his comments on a viral meme spread across the country.
Dongpeng Beverage, Mengniu, and cheese maker Milkground terminated their deals with the French striker. According to company statements compiled by state-run portal China.org.cn, the moves came as a direct response to the backlash. Dongpeng had only unveiled Mbappé as an ambassador for its Bushuila sports drink brand in April 2026.
The controversy began with a clip from the French program "The Bridge." In the footage, Mbappé described a meme featuring his face superimposed onto the image of Mao Zedong. He called Mao "some guy" who he thought was a Chinese dictator. Reuters reported it could not independently authenticate the video, but the clip moved quickly through social media.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV suspended La Liga coverage and matches involving Mbappé on Monday. The network also pulled advertisements featuring the player. By Tuesday, his accounts on Xiaohongshu and Weibo had been muted, according to Renmin Ruiping, an online commentary platform for People's Daily.
Mbappé responded with an apology on X on October 27. He wrote in Chinese, French, and English that his remarks were ill-judged and that they hurt many Chinese communities around the world. La Liga also issued a statement expressing deep regret over the hurt caused to fans. The league clarified that Mbappé's personal views do not represent the Spanish league's position.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry was aware of the reports. He stated that words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society. A representative for China Media Group told reporters that they will listen to Mbappé's words but watch his actions even more closely.
Mbappé held approximately one million followers on each of Xiaohongshu and Weibo before the incident. Four topics relating to the football star ranked among the top 10 searches on Weibo on October 27. Neither the resumption of CCTV broadcasts nor the lifting of account restrictions could be confirmed as of October 28.
Source: CNBC
