Chinese brands cut ties with Mbappé over dictator remark

At least three Chinese companies ended sponsorship deals with Kylian Mbappé on Tuesday, after a clip circulated online in which the French captain appeared to describe Mao Zedong as "a Chinese dictator." Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground each announced the terminations in similarly worded statements.

None of the three said what had prompted them; each declared opposition to "any words and actions that hurt national sentiment." The clip, recorded ahead of an appearance on the French online talk show The Bridge, shows Mbappé asked to name his favourite meme of himself. He cited "a video someone made of a guy ... I think he was a Chinese dictator," over an altered image of his face on the blue-suited body of Mao. Fans had circulated that particular meme for years to tease a player said to overshadow even his own teams.

The inventory now being withdrawn is extensive: campaigns for electrolyte drinks, milk and cheese, a Dongpeng commercial with a slogan delivered in Chinese, a Mengniu ad placing him alongside Lionel Messi. RedNote, the social media platform, went further than the sponsors. Its content partnership with Mbappé had already expired on 31 December 2024, but it announced anyway that it would remove related promotional materials and opposed "any conduct that hurts national sentiment."

On Weibo, the hashtags "Dongpeng ends partnership with Mbappé" and "Football fans boycott Mbappé" topped the trending list, with users telling him not to come to China. The Associated Press could not reach Mbappé's representatives for comment.

The statements arrived within a day of the clip, worded almost identically, from companies that had spent years putting his face in subway stations and elevators across China.