I didn't mean to: Mbappé apologises to China after the row

Following LALIGA’s apology to China over Kylian Mbappé’s remarks about his meme of “Chinese dictator” Mao Zedong, the Real Madrid and France star has now issued an apology of his own.

The Real Madrid forward acknowledged in a statement that his comment about an image of himself was ill-judged and had hurt many people in China and the Chinese community worldwide.

The apology comes after Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground announced the end of their commercial partnerships with the player, and after state broadcaster CCTV reportedly suspended its broadcasts of LaLiga, according to EFE and The Paper.

How did the controversy begin?

The controversy began during an interview on the French show ‘The Bridge’, where Mbappé chose a meme showing his face superimposed on a Chinese dictator as his favorite. Although he did not name anyone, the image circulating on social media superimposes his face on a portrait of Mao Zedong.

LaLiga and its president, Javier Tebas, had already apologized to the Chinese people, and the league says it is working with its partners in the country to resolve the crisis.

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