Real Madrid and La Liga apologise to China after Mbappe comments

Kylian Mbappe’s comments about a satirical image involving Chinese leader Mao Zedong have triggered a commercial and diplomatic crisis, prompting apologies from the France forward, La Liga president Javier Tebas and Real Madrid.

Mbappe apologised in French, English and Chinese after remarks made during an interview with French programme The Bridge were widely circulated. He had referred to a manipulated image showing his face on the body of a man he described as a “Chinese dictator”, a reference to Mao Zedong.

The clip attracted 430 million views on Chinese social media platform Weibo, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV subsequently suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches and content linked to Mbappe, while removing adverts featuring the player.

Why China matters to La Liga

The reaction raised concerns because of the scale of La Liga’s commercial interests in China.

On 3 August, the league announced a deal with Migu, a platform owned by state-owned China Mobile, to broadcast 380 matches per season through to 2029-30. Migu has more than 520 million subscribers and annual growth of more than 8%, according to El Mundo.

La Liga generated €1.576bn in broadcasting revenue during the 2024-25 season, including about €748m from international markets. Although the league has not disclosed how much comes specifically from China, Asia and the United States are major sources of overseas income.

Tebas publicly apologised for the offence caused by Mbappe’s comments, stressing La Liga’s respect for China and its football supporters. He also met Yao Jing, the Chinese ambassador to Spain, to reaffirm cooperation and existing agreements.

Tebas said the league would continue working with its Chinese partners so that an isolated incident did not damage the progress already made or affect the millions of fans who follow the competition.

Real Madrid issued its own statement roughly a day after Mbappe and Tebas had apologised. The club expressed regret to the Chinese people for any offence caused by its player and said it respected China, its history, culture and citizens, as well as the millions of Chinese supporters who admire Real Madrid.

It also joined Mbappe’s public apology and reiterated its commitment to respect, coexistence and understanding between cultures.

Commercial impact

Three Chinese companies have ended their commercial relationships with Mbappe, directly affecting his marketability in the country.

Real Madrid also has financial interests at stake. According to El Mundo, the club owns 20% of Mbappe’s image rights, while between 10% and 15% of its international merchandise revenue comes from China. Mbappe’s shirt is the club’s best-selling product there.

Those figures do not represent confirmed losses, but show the potential impact if the dispute develops into a wider commercial boycott. La Liga has spent 12 years building its presence in China, with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Their combined business exceeded €11m five years ago, the latest period for which figures are available.

The league has also adjusted kick-off times for Asian audiences since 2016. Some matches began at 13:00 Spanish time, equivalent to 19:00 in Beijing, while current weekend afternoon games start at 14:00.

The scale of the audience is illustrated by the 40 million Chinese viewers who watched Wu Lei’s first Espanyol match in 2019. By comparison, 2.759 million watched the latest Barcelona versus Real Madrid game in Spain on DAZN LaLiga.

No verified figures have yet established the final financial losses suffered by Real Madrid or La Liga as a result of the incident.