Kylian Mbappe has lost major sponsorship deals in China after a video circulated online showing the Real Madrid forward apparently joking about a meme featuring his face edited onto former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
In the clip, Mbappe reportedly described the image as one of the funniest memes he had seen, referring to the figure as “some guy” he believed was a Chinese dictator. The video quickly sparked backlash on Chinese social media, with critics accusing the French star of disrespecting China’s national sentiments.
Chinese beverage giant Dongpeng and dairy producer Mengniu subsequently announced that they were terminating all cooperation with Mbappe. Cheese producer Milkground also reportedly ended its partnership, while social media platform RedNote said it would remove related promotional materials.
However, the authenticity of the circulating video has not been independently verified, and Mbappe’s representatives had not publicly responded to the controversy at the time of reporting.
The incident comes just a day after Mbappe lost the 2026 Ballon d’Or to Harry Kane, turning what should have been a major football news week into a growing commercial controversy.
