Chinese brands drop Mbappe after a viral video allegedly linked the Real Madrid star to a joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong

Two major Chinese companies, Dongpeng Beverage and Mengniu, have terminated their partnerships with French football star Kylian Mbappe following the circulation of a video in which he allegedly made a joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

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The announcements, made on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, followed widespread reactions on Chinese social media over remarks attributed to the 27-year-old Real Madrid forward and France captain.

Mao, who died in 1976, was the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China, and jokes about him remain a sensitive subject in the country.

Dongpeng, a major Chinese drinks company, announced that it was ending its relationship with Mbappe with immediate effect.

“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” the company said in a statement.

Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, also confirmed that it was terminating its cooperation with the footballer.

The company said it maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards words or actions it considered offensive to the Chinese people.

Before the controversy, Mbappe enjoyed considerable popularity among Chinese football fans and had millions of followers on Chinese social media platforms.

His popularity also earned him the nickname “Guigui”, the Chinese translation of “turtle”, linked to an internet meme featuring the French international and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The controversy followed the circulation of a video in which Mbappe apparently described a digitally altered image of himself as the funniest internet meme he had seen.

In the clip, he reportedly referred to the person whose image had been edited with his face as “some guy — I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.

The remark appeared to refer to an online meme showing Mbappe’s face superimposed on an image of Mao.

However, the authenticity of the video could not immediately be verified by AFP Fact Check.

The incident generated considerable discussion on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where the termination of Dongpeng’s partnership with Mbappe became a trending topic.

Some users criticised the reported remark and called on the company to remove the footballer’s image from its energy drink bottles.

Dongqiudi, one of China’s major online football outlets, also condemned the comments, saying they were offensive to China and its people and had hurt the feelings of Chinese football supporters.

The latest controversy follows Mbappe’s earlier comments about a separate meme portraying him as a military dictator.

In September, the France captain discussed the issue in an interview with French sports newspaper L’Équipe.

He acknowledged that some people viewed the memes as harmless humour but expressed concern about comparisons with historical figures associated with mass suffering.

Mbappe said he did not believe he had done anything in his life that justified being compared with individuals responsible for killing people or bringing misery to millions.

International sports figures have previously faced backlash in China over remarks concerning politically sensitive issues, including Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong.

In 2023, former NBA player Dwight Howard sparked criticism on Chinese social media after referring to Taiwan as a country in a video featuring Taiwan’s then vice-president and current president, Lai Ching-te.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

In 2019, a social media post by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressing support for Hong Kong protesters triggered a major dispute between the NBA and China.

The fallout led to the suspension of sponsorship arrangements and the removal of NBA games from Chinese television for a year.

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The decision by Dongpeng and Mengniu to end their partnerships with Mbappe highlights the commercial risks global sports stars can face when remarks or online controversies touch on sensitive national and historical issues.