By Liz Lee and Fernando Kallas
MADRID/BEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Real Madrid issued an apology on Wednesday after their French forward Kylian Mbappe sparked a fierce backlash over his comments referring to the former Chinese leader Mao Zedong as a dictator.
After apologies from Mbappe and LaLiga did not quell the response in China, LaLiga President Javier Tebas set up a crisis unit and met with Chinese ambassador Yao Jing.
The backlash highlighted the risks for athletes and brands in the lucrative Chinese market, where satire about Mao, modern China’s founding leader who ruled the country from 1949 until his death in 1976, remains a social taboo.
“Real Madrid CF wishes to express its apologies to the Chinese people for any discomfort caused by the recent words of our player Kylian Mbappe,” Real said in a statement.
“Our club maintains a deep respect for China, its history, its culture and its citizens, as well as for the millions of Chinese fans who feel affection and admiration for Real Madrid.”
China’s state-owned broadcasting platform Migu is not showing Real Madrid’s LaLiga game against Racing Santander on Sunday, and Chinese brands including dairy companies Mengniu and Shanghai Milkground Food Tech as well as Eastroc Beverage ceased all cooperation with Mbappe.
REAL MADRID GAME NOT ON TV
Migu is scheduled to show nine of LaLiga’s 10 games this weekend, with Real Madrid’s match the only one not covered. Migu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
LaLiga moved quickly to set up a crisis unit and reached out to Real Madrid, a significant move following years of strained relations between Tebas and the club due to a power struggle within Spanish football. Real Madrid recently called for Tebas’ resignation.
Both parties put aside their differences, however, acknowledging the potential immediate and long-term financial repercussions of Mbappe’s comments. Following Real’s statement, people at LaLiga said Tebas was considering travelling to China to neutralise the threat of a massive financial loss for Spanish football.
LaLiga will also consider strengthening its institutional engagement with Beijing amid serious concerns about a sharp drop in revenue, as Chinese state television awaits further gestures of reconciliation.
In a video on a French podcast that has since been taken down, Mbappe is heard discussing a humorous meme where his face had been photoshopped on to that of “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.
Fans have previously created memes superimposing Mbappe’s face on images of military and political leaders to suggest that he has the power to influence decisions at the teams he plays for. Mbappe has been nicknamed “the dictator” in the European press.
On Wednesday, when asked what China thought of Mbappe’s apology, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said: “We take seriously the apology that the person has made.”
(Reporting by Ruairidh Barlow in Madrid and Liz Lee in Beijing, writing by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Toby Chopra and Ed Osmond)
