By Liz Lee and Ruairidh Barlow
MADRID/BEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Real Madrid on Wednesday issued an apology after their French forward Kylian Mbappe sparked a fierce backlash over his comments referring to late Chinese leader Mao Zedong as a dictator.
On Tuesday, Chinese brands including dairy companies Mengniu and Shanghai Milkground Food Tech as well as Eastroc Beverage ceased all cooperation with Mbappe, who apologised for his comment.
In a video on a French podcast that has since been taken down, Mbappe is heard discussing a funny meme where his face had been photoshopped on to that of “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.
“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,” the statement added.
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.
Fans have been creating 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, 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 and Toby Chopra)
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