China: Mbappé, accused of offending national sentiments, faces a backlash

Kylian Mbappé is facing a backlash and the cancellation of advertising contracts in China after a video surfaced online in which the French football star appears to joke about the former historical leader Mao Zedong.

Three companies that used the star's name and image—beverage giants Dongpeng and Mengniu, dairy products, and cheese manufacturer Milkground—announced on Tuesday, in virtually identical terms, the immediate termination of their partnership with Kylian Mbappé. They declared a "zero tolerance" policy for actions and words "that offend national sensibilities."

The reason: the spread of a video in which the Real Madrid striker discusses the memes he's been the subject of. In it, he says the funniest one he's seen is a photo montage of his face superimposed on that of a man he believes to be "a Chinese dictator".

AFP's digital verification services were initially unable to confirm the authenticity of the video.

But it appears to be a reference to a meme showing the player's face applied to an image of the former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

This is one example among many of montages between the features of the captain of the French team and various historical figures, and the captain of the French team is a priori a stranger to it.

- "Red line" -

But the montage touches on a central figure in Chinese history, still officially portrayed as a hero and revered in China. The "Great Helmsman," who died in 1976, was the leader of the communist revolution and proclaimed the People's Republic in 1949.

The video provoked reactions on social media reflecting the sensitivity of the subject and commensurate with the athlete's celebrity.

"Dondpeng drinks end collaboration with Mbappé" became the most discussed topic on the social network Weibo, with 430 million views.

"In China, these are extremely serious inappropriate remarks that have crossed the red line," commented a Weibo user.

"I will never buy Dongpeng or Mengniu products again if no legal action is taken" against the player to claim compensation, another added.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened, deeming it natural for all Chinese people to have a "common rejection" of remarks that offend them.

According to the state-run online news outlet The Paper, public broadcaster CCTV has decided to suspend the broadcast of all La Liga matches involving Kylian Mbappé and to remove all advertisements featuring him. AFP was unable to independently confirm this information.

Kylian Mbappé is immensely popular in China where football is arousing great enthusiasm despite the poor results of the national team, which has not qualified for the World Cup since its only participation in 2002. The exploits and lives of the greats of the beautiful game are closely followed there.

- Publication prohibited -

Kylian Mbappé has one million followers on Weibo and 1.1 million on Xiaohongshu (also called "RedNote"), another social network.

Advertisements using his image and generated by artificial intelligence were widely broadcast during the last World Cup by brands that are now turning their backs on him.

Kylian Mbappé is now prevented from posting on Xiaohongshu "for violating community rules", the account associated with his name on the social network indicated on Tuesday.

Mbappé's name or features have been commonly associated with authoritarian figures on social media due to the influence attributed to him in the locker room.

The outcry observed in China comes for the star the day after his disappointment at the 2026 Ballon d'Or, awarded to English striker Harry Kane.

Before Kylian Mbappé, other great athletes have suffered vigorous backlash for comments about President Xi Jinping, Taiwan or Hong Kong.