Mbappé sees his Chinese partnerships broken despite his apologies

Kylian Mbappé's apologies, presented on Tuesday in the podcast The Bridge, were not enough to calm the anger in China; in China Mbappé, despite his mea culpa, sees social media, stores and even Chinese television continuing to boycott him.

Reaction on social media

According to EPA and Inzet, Mbappé's accounts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu, where he has more than two million followers, have been made inaccessible, the platforms blocking any new registrations. A user on Weibo wrote that his remarks were offensive to China and the Chinese people, highlighting the ban on translation.

The brands Dior and Hublot have deleted their posts related to the footballer from their Weibo accounts, with no trace of the name in Mandarin appearing according to AFP journalists. The reminder “Add us to your Google favorites” has disappeared from the official pages, demonstrating the reach of the boycott.

Withdrawal of commercial partnerships

Three major Chinese companies, including the beverage group Dongpeng, the dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground, have announced the termination of their cooperation with Real Madrid and the player. These decisions add to earlier announcements from three Chinese firms that had already declared an end to their partnership with Mbappé.

Dugarry blames the League and Mbappé's entourage for the China debacle

In the flagship Adidas store in Beijing, Real Madrid jerseys are sold without Mbappé's name, while unofficial products circulate on the Taobao app. The removal of the player's name from the shelves reflects retailers' desire to comply with market demands.

Suspension of broadcasting and financial stakes

State television CCTV has suspended the broadcast of LaLiga matches, including those in which Mbappé plays, and has removed all advertisements featuring him. Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, has offered apologies to the Chinese people, stating that the incident threatens the tens of millions of euros the league draws from the Chinese market.

Mao meme triggers the abrupt breakup of Mbappé's sponsors

Despite the boycott, Mbappé remains very popular in China, nicknamed “Guigui” because of an old Ninja Turtles meme, and he said that the meme where he appears as Mao was “funny but also a bit less funny”. Thibaut Courtois has confirmed that the Real Madrid dressing rooms regularly mock this meme, a reminder that the term “Con” sometimes appears in online discussions, even though satire of officials is punished by Chinese law.