Real Madrid and France superstar Kylian Mbappe has lost two major sponsorship deals in China after a video circulated online in which he appeared to joke about former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, sparking widespread criticism on Chinese social media.
Chinese beverage giant Dongpeng and leading dairy producer Mengniu announced on Tuesday that they had terminated their partnerships with the 27-year-old forward following the controversy.
The backlash centres on a video in which Mbappe appeared to reference an internet meme featuring his face superimposed onto an image of Mao, the founding leader of the People's Republic of China, who died in 1976.
Mao remains a highly sensitive historical figure in China, where jokes or comments perceived as disrespectful towards him can provoke significant public criticism.
Dongpeng confirmed that it had ended its commercial relationship with Mbappe, citing concerns over comments considered offensive to Chinese national sentiment.
"Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments," the company said in a statement.
It added that it was terminating all cooperation with the French international with immediate effect.
Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, followed with a similar announcement.
"With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe," the company stated.
"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 decisions represent a commercial setback for Mbappe, one of football's most recognisable global stars.
The controversy began after footage circulated online showing Mbappe discussing the funniest internet meme he had encountered.
In the clip, the Real Madrid forward appeared to describe an image featuring his face edited onto a historical figure.
"Some guy – I think he's a Chinese dictator," Mbappe reportedly said.
The remark was widely interpreted as a reference to a meme depicting the French footballer as Mao Zedong.
Similar images featuring Mbappe's face superimposed onto historical personalities have circulated online.
However, AFP Fact Check was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the video.
Despite that uncertainty, the footage generated considerable attention across Chinese social media platforms.
The controversy quickly became one of the most discussed topics on Weibo, China's major social media platform.
The phrase "Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe" topped the site's trending discussions as users reacted to the sponsorship cancellations.
One Weibo user described the alleged comments as "extremely serious wrong remarks" that had "crossed the red line", calling them completely unacceptable.
Other users urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappe's image from its energy drink packaging following the termination of their partnership.
Dongqiudi, one of China's leading online football publications, also criticised the French international.
In a statement released on Monday evening, the outlet described Mbappe's reported remarks as offensive to China and its people, arguing that they had hurt the feelings of Chinese football supporters.
The reaction highlights the commercial and reputational risks international sporting figures can face when comments become the subject of political or cultural controversy.
Mbappe had previously discussed internet memes depicting him as historical personalities, including authoritarian leaders, during an interview with French sports newspaper L'Equipe in September.
The forward acknowledged that some images were intended as harmless jokes but expressed discomfort with comparisons involving individuals responsible for widespread suffering.
"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 explained.
"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," Mbappe added.
His earlier comments suggest he had already expressed reservations about being associated with controversial historical figures.
The sponsorship dispute comes during a difficult week for Mbappe, who finished second behind England captain Harry Kane in the 2026 Ballon d'Or voting.
The 27-year-old Real Madrid forward missed out on football's most prestigious individual honour despite an impressive goalscoring campaign.
Now, the termination of his partnerships with Dongpeng and Mengniu has brought additional scrutiny to his global commercial profile.
With the authenticity of the circulating video still unverified, questions remain about the circumstances surrounding the remarks and whether Mbappe will publicly address the controversy.
For now, the decisions by two prominent Chinese companies underline how quickly online controversies can affect the commercial relationships of football's biggest stars.
