“My comment was ill-judged,” Mbappé said in a statement in three languages. “I apologize to everyone my words have upset.”
The meme is part of an internet trend where soccer fans have superimposed Mbappé’s face onto pictures of military and political leaders as a play on Mbappé’s nickname “the dictator,” referring to the Real Madrid player’s perceived authority and influence over football clubs and the media. Even Mbappé’s French teammate Ousmane Dembélé made a joke about the moniker during the 2026 World Cup, referring to Mbappé as Mobut after Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator who ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo for three decades.
“To be compared to people who murder others, or who have made millions and millions of people miserable … I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that in my life,” he said.
Mbappé’s “dictator” label, however, triggered sharp rebuke in China. Several Chinese broadcasters suspended coverage related to Mbappé and Spanish soccer league LaLiga, while some brands pulled ads that featured the sports star. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, before Mbappé’s apology, that “words and deeds that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with opposition from all sectors of Chinese society.”
Many international scholars have described Mao as an authoritarian leader, pointing to his centralized rule, political purges, and aggressive state campaigns, including the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Historians estimate that tens of millions of people died during Mao’s rule as a result of famine and violence. But within China, many view him as a revolutionary figure who unified the country and transformed a largely agrarian society into an independent nation. While official accounts have condemned the Cultural Revolution as a “grave blunder,” those same accounts argue that Mao’s lifetime contributions to the Chinese revolution outweighed his mistakes. The Chinese Constitution describes the state as the “people’s democratic dictatorship,” defined as a proletarian dictatorship.
Parodies of political figures have incurred anger and sanctions before. In April 2015, CCTV suspended TV presenter Bi Fujian after a private dinner video that showed him mocking Mao while singing a revolutionary opera was leaked online. In July 2017, Chinese social media platforms also restricted references to Winnie-the-Pooh after internet users compared the character to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
International sports brands and associations have also come under fire in China over remarks deemed politically offensive.
Canceled contracts
Mbappé’s comments may already have cost him.
According to French newspaper Le Monde, Mbappé’s Dongpeng and Mengniu contracts were worth approximately 50 million yuan (€6.7 million) combined. Dongpeng had run adverts featuring AI-generated images of Mbappé drinking its sports drink during the 2026 World Cup and sold bottles of its Bushuila electrolyte drink with Mbappé on its packaging. After Mbappé’s comments and prior to their statements, the two consumer brands saw their stock fall.
Bottled Dongpeng electrolyte drink endorsed by French soccer star Kylian Mbappé are displayed for sale at a shop in Yichang, Hubei Province of China, on Oct. 27, 2026. —Liu Junfeng—VCG/Getty ImagesChina’s state television CCTV suspended broadcasts of all matches and events involving Mbappé and LaLiga, and pulled advertisements featuring Mbappé, Chinese media reported on Tuesday. The state broadcaster said in a statement after Mbappé’s apology that it hoped he “will genuinely learn a lesson from this” and “thoroughly correct” his mistake.
“Our commitment is to keep working together so that an individual episode does not harm the important advances achieved nor affect the millions of Chinese fans who follow our competitions,” Tebas said in a post on X. “A relationship built over so many years cannot be damaged by a single incident,” he added in another post.
Calls for brands to terminate partnerships with Mbappé and boycott the player were among the top trending topics on Weibo. Some users accused Mbappé of profiting off the lucrative Chinese sports markets and his millions of fans in the country while disrespecting their national sentiments.
French soccer star Kylian Mbappé's Chinese social media Rednote account displays the message: "This account has been muted for violating community guidelines," in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 28, 2026. —Jade Gao—AFP/Getty Images
In an article titled “Mbappé scores an own goal in China,” state media outlet China Daily reported that the backlash from Chinese fans has “threatened his lucrative commercial relationships and offered a sharp reminder of the limits of celebrity influence.”
“What did he say? Many Chinese would rather not repeat it,” state-linked Global Times said in a video commentary. “The message from Chinese consumers is clear: Respect is not optional; one doesn't get to profit from China while disrespecting it. Not a chance.”
“However good your football skills are, you cannot trample on fundamental limits,” it said.
Censorship concerns
French social media users criticized Mbappé for retreating on his comments. Marc Julienne, director of the Asia Centre at French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), told Le Parisien that describing Mao as a “dictator” reflects a consensus among Western historians, though it is a characterization that remains taboo in China—which, Julienne added, Mbappé may not have realized.
“The real disgrace,” the committee said, “is the companies rushing to apologize so they can continue to do business in China.”
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