Mbappé's China row hits Real Madrid and LaLiga; the trouble explained

The diplomatic crisis sparked by Kylian Mbappé in China looks set to extend beyond the player's personal losses, with at least three of his sponsorship deals with Asian brands already going up in smoke.

Real Madrid, his current club, and LaLiga, the organization that runs Spain's top-flight league, are also concerned about the potential collateral damage from the controversy.

The outrage among the Chinese public stemmed from a lighthearted moment during an interview with the forward and his club and national teammate, Aurélien Tchouaméni, posted on YouTube.

Asked about his favorite meme featuring his own image, Mbappé laughed and said he loved an edited picture showing his face on the body of "a Chinese dictator."

The subject of the joke, however, was Mao Zedong, the historic founder of the People's Republic of China, who ruled from 1949 to 1976.

Although the conversation was originally published in March, the issue only blew up this week after clips went viral on Asian social media.

Dongqiudi, one of the country's most influential sports news websites, condemned the player's comment, calling it offensive and wholly inappropriate toward Mao Zedong.

The situation is compounded by legislation passed by the Chinese government in 2018 that makes defaming the nation's heroes and martyrs a crime. In addition to a flood of criticism on Weibo, the incident prompted an official statement from Beijing.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that actions or words that offend the Chinese people will always be strongly condemned by society as a whole.

The first direct consequence for the French star was a harsh commercial boycott. Three major local companies cut ties with Mbappé: energy drink brand Dongpeng and dairy producers Mengniu and Milkground.

In an attempt to limit the damage, the player gave an interview on Tuesday to publicly apologize for the gaffe.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas also had to intervene. Concerned about the competition's future in the Asian market, he issued an apology. According to the Spanish press, Tebas stressed that an isolated incident must not tarnish the commercial partnership or harm the dozens of professional clubs and millions of Asian fans of Spanish football.

Even so, these steps failed to prevent severe retaliation. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV blocked broadcasts of Real Madrid's Spanish league matches. Meanwhile, content related to the forward, including goals and statements, was banned from the country's digital platforms.

Mbappé's account on RedNote, which had amassed more than a million followers, was taken down for allegedly violating community guidelines.

Although Real Madrid remained completely silent on the controversy throughout Tuesday, the Madrid club will not emerge unscathed.

Spanish media outlets report that Mbappé's contract guarantees the club a percentage of his individual advertising earnings. The termination of his deals with Chinese brands will therefore hit Real Madrid's finances.

There are also internal concerns about the club's reputation among its estimated 100 million fans in China.

The board fears the crisis could trigger a sharp drop in sales of shirts and licensed merchandise, as well as unsettle relations with its own Chinese sponsors: Hisense (televisions), Roborock (robot vacuum cleaners), and Linglong Tire (tires).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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