A Kylian Mbappé meme has sparked a diplomatic row with China Three Chinese sponsors have ended their partnerships with the French footballer, while the controversy has also engulfed the Spanish league

The day after finishing second in the 2026 Ballon d’Or rankings, Kylian Mbappé has found himself at the centre of a diplomatic and commercial controversy involving China. It was sparked by a video in which the Frenchman explains how much he enjoys a meme depicting him as Mao Zedong, described as “a Chinese dictator”.

Beijing’s reaction was immediate and particularly severe: three local companies ended their partnerships with him, while state broadcaster CCTV suspended coverage of LA LIGA matches and removed promotional content featuring the Real Madrid player. The response prompted both Mbappé and the Spanish league to apologise publicly, marking another case of tension between the world of Western sport and Xi Jinping’s government.

The meme and the sponsors’ reaction

The controversy stems from a clip attributed to an interview for the French programme The Bridge. Asked which meme featuring his face had made him laugh the most, Mbappé describes an edit featuring “a Chinese dictator”, adding that he often uses it with his friends online. He does not directly name Mao Zedong, but the video shows his face superimposed onto an image of the historic leader of the People’s Republic.

The content was part of an established trend of memes depicting Mbappé as a dictator, joking about his supposed ability to make every decision at the teams he plays for. In September, during an interview with France Football, the Frenchman had already commented on the trend: he acknowledged its humorous nature but also admitted feeling uncomfortable about being compared with figures responsible for historical tragedies. The joke had even reached the France dressing room, where Dembélé nicknamed him “Mobut”, a reference to Mobutu Sese Seko, the former dictator of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The consequences of his words were immediate. Beverage group Dongpeng and dairy companies Mengniu and Milkground announced the end of their partnerships with the player, stressing their intolerance towards behaviour that offends national history and sentiment. Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs then intervened, stating that such comments face opposition from Chinese society. In recent hours, Mbappé issued a public apology through an official statement, acknowledging the potential harm caused by his comment and attempting to contain the controversy. But by then, it was already too late.

LA LIGA’s apology and previous cases

LA LIGA also intervened to contain the consequences of the controversy. President Javier Tebas immediately apologised to the Chinese public, arguing that one individual incident should not compromise relationships built over many years. The Spanish league also announced an awareness and communication protocol involving clubs and players.

China, after all, represents an enormous and strategic market, with an estimated 200 million football fans, according to figures recently reported by Reuters. FIFA data from the 2022 World Cup showed that the Asian country accounted for almost 50% of all viewing hours on digital and social platforms worldwide. These numbers explain why losing visibility and commercial relationships in China is a serious concern for European leagues, clubs and athletes.

The particular sensitivity - so to speak - of the Chinese authorities towards content perceived as offensive had already emerged on numerous occasions. From the censorship of memes comparing Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh to cases involving sport. In 2019, CCTV removed Arsenal vs Manchester City from its schedule following Mesut Özil’s comments on the persecution of the Uyghur minority. That same year, Daryl Morey’s tweet supporting the Hong Kong protests led to the suspension of NBA broadcasts and the freezing of sponsorship agreements, with Adam Silver estimating losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

This is hardly a new issue, for LA LIGA or any other actor in the sporting world and beyond. Maintaining relationships with the Chinese market, and its immense scale, requires meticulous attention to its political sensitivities. By commenting light-heartedly on a meme, Mbappé created a problem extending far beyond his personal agreements: he loses sponsors, while the league in which he is one of the leading figures loses visibility. The repercussions will inevitably affect Real Madrid as well. It is not the first case and is unlikely to be the last, but this time it is Spanish football as a whole that is paying the price.