Mbappé

Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga have apologised for the French striker’s comments about Mao Zedong, but the damage to their reputation in China will not be easily or quickly repaired, experts say.

The France captain, one of the best footballers on the planet, is at the centre of a controversy after a video emerged this week of him appearing to make fun of former leader Mao.

Mbappe talked about being amused by an internet meme of his face digitally altered onto “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator”.

Mao remains officially revered as the hero of the communist revolution and founder of the People’s Republic of China.

He is blamed by historians for millions of deaths, but publicly mocking him is taboo, and Mbappe’s remarks saw him become the latest foreign sports figure or entity to infuriate Beijing.

Leading Chinese brands cut ties with the 27-year-old, and Spanish top-flight matches will be pulled from state television broadcaster CCTV’s schedule.

Chinese state media and social media users lined up to lambast Mbappe, although they were left in the dark about what exactly he said.

China is the world’s second-biggest economy and most lucrative market. Within two days, as the video, purportedly filmed in April, circulated online, the striker, his club Real Madrid and La Liga apologised.

A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government took Mbappe’s apology “seriously”.

‘Very damaging incident’

So is that the end of the matter?

“Viewed from a calm, objective and emotion-free standpoint, this is clearly a very damaging incident,” Yan Qiang, a veteran sports commentator, told the AFP news agency.

“It causes serious damage to the image of La Liga and Real Madrid in China.

“In the age of the mobile internet, things blow up on social media quickly and emotions run high.

“An apology does not necessarily mean the end of the story.

“It’s better to have an apology than no apology at all, but it’s definitely not the end of the story.”

The furore and the fallout are not an unfamiliar tale.

Various overseas sports leagues or players have found themselves in hot water for comments on topics that are politically sensitive to China.

China effectively cut ties with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States in 2019 after then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters.

NBA executives said Morey had the right to freedom of expression. In contrast, La Liga immediately distanced itself from what Mbappe said.

Basketball is among the most popular sports in China along with football. However, Morey’s remark saw the NBA wiped from CCTV for more than a year.

NBA preseason matches returned to China only last year.

Australian National University lecturer Debby Chan called the NBA case – and now Mbappe’s – an illustration of China’s consumer nationalism, where online sentiment and state media converge into “a spiral of outrage”.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league lost “hundreds of millions of dollars” over the split.

No way back for Mbappe, Real Madrid and La Liga?

Spanish football also has a lot to lose.

A source within La Liga told AFP that China and the US alone finance the “majority” of international broadcasting rights, which were valued at 748 million euros ($834m) for the 2024-25 season.

According to the Real Madrid-affiliated newspaper Marca, the Madrid club generates 10 to 15 percent of its jersey and other merchandise sales in China.

Real Madrid also counts Chinese companies among its main sponsors, with Hisense, sports betting firm Kaiyun Sports and Linglong Tire all featuring prominently.

Adam Zhang, founder of the Beijing-based Key-Solution Sports Consulting, said showing fast and heartfelt remorse was the first step.

“This will influence the decision on whether to continue the broadcast ban and, if so, for how long,” he told AFP.

Sports commentator Yan cast doubt on whether the reputation of Mbappe, whose face has adorned drink bottles and advertising campaigns in China, can ever fully recover.

“Judging by commercial sponsorships and big ad campaigns he appeared in during the World Cup, he has a huge influence in China,” he said.

“If that influence can’t be sustained, there can be no talk of commercial interests, and La Liga and Real Madrid will definitely be badly affected.”

Yan said it was “genuinely hard to predict” what happens next.

“In the short term, I’m certainly not optimistic,” he added.

“If they want to repair their image and the relationship, their future actions and behaviour will be key.”

Mao founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and ruled through tumultuous decades in the 1960s and 1970s.

His attempt at rapid industrialisation, which he called the Great Leap Forward, led to a famine that killed tens of millions. Then came the Cultural Revolution: a violent purge of anyone seen as a threat to Communism, which included Chinese intellectuals, landowners, artists and often rivals within the Party.

His death in 1976 brought a new era for China, which began to open its doors to the global economy. Even as the country moved away from Mao’s rule, he continued to be hailed by the party as a national icon whose legacy was beyond reproach.

So jokes or memes about Mao are seen not just as an insult to the party but also its closely-guarded narrative about the country’s past.

It’s unclear when the Mbappé meme involving Mao began but the nickname – “the dictator” – has made the striker the subject of many memes and jokes online.

In 2024, he sued a French influencer and kebab shop owner for using his name in the description of one of the shop’s sandwiches, leading to more jokes about the nickname.

France team-mate Ousmane Dembele jumped on the trend during the 2026 World Cup, calling Mbappé Mobut – a reference to Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator who ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, for three decades.

In an interview with France Football in September, Mbappé acknowledged the light-heartedness behind many of these memes, but said they “sometimes reveal a lack of political and human awareness among people”.

“There’s a side that’s a bit less funny, because we know the damage people like that have caused throughout history,” he said.

“Being compared to people who murder others, or who have made millions upon millions of people miserable… I don’t think I’ve done that in my life.”

Additional reporting by Fan Wang and Osmond Chia

Mbappe appears to say that the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face photo-shopped onto that of “a Chinese dictator”.

Kylian Mbappe has been dropped by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football superstar apparently joked about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

In China, jokes about Mao, the country’s founding leader who died in 1976, are considered disrespectful and remain a social taboo.

“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” drinks giant Dongpeng said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that “with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe”.

Advertisements showing AI-generated images of the 27-year-old France captain drinking a Dongpeng sports drink were regularly shown in China during this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the Real Madrid forward, who until this incident was hugely popular among Chinese fans with millions of followers on social media.

Mbappe is fondly nicknamed “Guigui”, the Chinese translation of “turtle”, due to his popularity as a character in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meme.

“With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe,” Mengniu said in a statement.

“Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” it added.

The announcements came after a video emerged online with Mbappe saying the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face digitally altered onto that of “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.

This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, one of several using the footballer’s face and other historical figures.

“Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe” was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo.

One Weibo user said the “extremely serious wrong remarks … crossed the red line. They are completely unacceptable.”

Others urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappe’s image from their energy drink bottles.

Dongqiudi, one of China’s biggest online football outlets, said in a statement on Monday evening that Mbappe’s remarks were “offensive to China and the Chinese people” and “have hurt the feelings of Chinese football fans and the Chinese people”.

In September, Mbappe addressed a previous meme depicting him as a military dictator in an interview with French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

“There’s a part of it that’s funny. You can tell that, for some people, it’s all in good fun. But there is another part that’s a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history,” he said.

“Being compared to individuals who murder others, or who have brought misery to millions upon millions of people – well, I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that in my life,” he said.

The furore in China came a day after Mbappe lost out to Harry Kane for the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award in football.

Global sports stars who have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong have previously caused controversy in China and been dumped by sponsors there.

Former NBA player Dwight Howard referred to Taiwan as a country in 2023 as he appeared in a video with the island’s vice president and current President William Lai Ching-te, causing fury on Chinese social media.

Beijing claims Taiwan is its territory and has threatened to use force to take control.

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet in 2019 supporting Hong Kong protests, leading to China suspending sponsorship deals with the NBA and pulling games off Chinese television for a year.

Harry Kane was crowned winner of the men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday night, but a few hours earlier that confirmation appeared to have been announced prematurely.

At 17:15 GMT, an article from the award’s official website titled ‘Harry Kane wins the 2026 Ballon d’Or’ began to circulate online.

The widespread sharing of the article caused confusion online, with some wondering whether France Football – the organisers of the award – had fallen short at the final hurdle of keeping the winner, who was voted for by journalists at the end of September, under wraps.

That was until further digging on the Ballon d’Or website revealed that some of the other favourites to win the award – including Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe – also had similar pieces penned and published about them.

When asked about the articles by BBC Sport, a Ballon d’Or spokesperson said: “Some profiles of nominees prepared by BallonDor.com were inadvertently published online.

“These articles had been prepared for all nominees and should in no way be considered as an indication of the final results or rankings.”

By 17:40, the articles about Kane and Mbappe had been removed from the website.

Similar articles were also written about London City Lionesses star Alexia Putellas and Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor. Putellas went on to be officially confirmed as the winner of the women’s Ballon d’Or.

That premature announcement may have sparked some excitement in Kane that this could be his year, but he only had to wait a little longer to find out for sure.

The race for the 2026 Ballon d’Or is heating up with less than 24 hours to go before the winner is announced at a glitzy ceremony in London.

A three-way contest between Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane leads the debate in the run-up to football’s most prestigious individual honour.

Yamal, Spain’s 19-year-old prodigy, and France’s 2018 World Cup winner Mbappe have both publicly endorsed themselves for the honour, while the unstoppable Kane of England has been relatively shy in campaigning for himself.

Predictions are pouring in thick and fast as we inch closer to the award ceremony at the London Palladium.

Ballon d’Or predictions: Who has AI picked as the winner?

According to data released by Avisia, a French data analysis and artificial intelligence firm, Yamal is the favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

The Barcelona winger is tipped to have a 23 percent probability of lifting the trophy, awarded to the best footballer of the 2025-26 season.

The data and AI consulting firm chose Kane as a close second, with a 21 per cent probability, while Mbappe ranked third at 19 percent, tied with Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner.

The top five list is rounded out by Lionel Messi given an 18 percent chance to win for a record-extending ninth time.

Avisia claims it correctly identified the top five for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, won by Ousmane Dembele.

Even though Yamal is Avisia’s top pick, it is Kane who the bookmakers see as the outright favourite, with about 70 percent probability.

What are the predictions of players and experts?

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone thinks his compatriot Messi, who recently retired from international duty, deserves to lift the golden ball.

“After the World Cup, he played at his age… No doubt about it,” Simeone said.

Former Italy international Marco Materazzi echoed those thoughts.

“With all due respect to Yamal, I think Messi showed, at 38 years old, he’s in a different league,” he added.

Jude Bellingham, also shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or, backed England captain Kane and his attacking partner at the 2026 World Cup.

“He works so hard for it, and he’s a very honest and hard-working person,” Bellingham said. When asked if Kane could win, he added, “It’s definitely possible”.

Fellow England international Anthony Gordon sided with his Barcelona teammate Yamal.

“What Lamine has achieved at such a young age… the kind of player he is, is ridiculous. He’s on a whole other level,” said Gordon.

Mbappe, on the other hand, has the backing of his Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni, who said the Frenchman had “an incredible season”.

Yamal, Kane or Mbappe: Who will win the Ballon d’Or?

Looking purely at individual statistics, Mbappe leads the race as La Liga’s top scorer with 25 goals and the Champions League’s leading marksman with 15.

Mbappe, furthermore, also won the World Cup’s Golden Boot and set the record for most World Cup goals (12).

Those staggering statistics make him a strong contender alongside Kane, who scored an incredible 73 goals last season – the most by any player since Messi netted 82 in 2011-12.

But Mbappe failed to win a trophy with either club or country, while Kane won the Bundesliga with Bayern but guided England only to a third-place finish. The lack of major titles weakens their case.

This is where Yamal stands out.

The youngster won the World Cup with Spain and La Liga with Barca, even though on the personal front, his statistics weren’t the greatest, with injury marring his campaign.

Recent history suggests that winning a title in one of the major tournaments has become almost a prerequisite.

Only four of the previous 19 Ballon d’Or winners failed to lift any of the Champions League, World Cup, European Championship or Copa America during the year they were honoured.

That bodes well for Yamal, who is bidding to become the youngest winner, hoping to surpass Brazilian Ronaldo, who was 21 when he won in 1997.

Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-1 a day after Barcelona thrashed Real Betis 5-2, as the Spanish giants prepare for El Clasico.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Real Madrid closed the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to six points with ⁠⁠a 4-1 win over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu, a week before the rivals meet.

Despite the absence of suspended Vinicius Jr, Real produced the fluid attacking football the team had been lacking of late, with Arda Guler again orchestrating their best work on Sunday.

After a stale opening, the Turkish international sparked the match into life.

Sevilla appealed for a red card following an incident involving Guler and Peque Fernandez, but Guler responded minutes later by collecting Yan Diomande’s pass and arrowing a shot into ⁠⁠the top corner.

Mbappe scored an equally impressive second in the 37th ⁠⁠minute, turning brilliantly to burst through on goal before calmly beating Odysseas Vlachodimos.

Fede Valverde, restored to right back by coach Jose Mourinho, made a crucial block to deny Felix Correia just before the hour as Sevilla threatened to work ⁠⁠their way back into the contest.

Diomande then exploited the space created by Sevilla’s more adventurous approach, evading his marker before sending Mbappe in ⁠⁠behind the defence. Andres Castrin brought down the French forward, ⁠⁠who got to his feet to convert the resulting penalty and effectively settle the contest.

Substitute Manu Bueno reduced Sevilla’s arrears with a composed finish 10 minutes from time after Mbappe cheaply surrendered possession deep inside his own half.

Diomande restored Real’s ‌‌three-goal advantage two minutes later, capping a fine display with a thunderous strike.

Eder Militao received a warm ovation when he came on in the 85th minute for his first appearance since undergoing ‌‌hamstring ‌‌surgery in April.

Mourinho will take encouragement from one of the most complete performances of his second spell at Real as they prepare for next Sunday’s pivotal meeting with Barcelona.

Real, who have won three straight games in all competitions following the international break, climbed ⁠⁠to third on 21 points, one behind Atletico Madrid, while Sevilla are sixth on 14.

Earlier on Saturday, Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 to make it nine wins from nine and ⁠⁠stretch their blistering league tally to 39 goals.

Lamine Yamal lit the fuse with a dazzling opener before Rodri, Gabriel Jesus, Eric Garcia and substitute Dani Olmo joined the party, while Valentin Gomez and Ez Abde replied for Betis, who played much of the ⁠⁠second half with 10 men after Facundo Bernal was sent off for head-butting Lamine.

Barca moved to 27 points, five above Atletico, who won 1-0 at Espanyol, while third-placed Betis have 19 and Real Madrid sit fourth on 18 before welcoming Sevilla on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Osasuna withstood second-half pressure from Racing Santander to win 2-0 in Jagoba Arrasate’s first game back as manager.

Two flying saves from Ionut Radu denied Alaves a point in a 2-1 defeat to Celta Vigo, while ‌‌Real Sociedad won 5-2 at Malaga.