Real Madrid have issued a formal apology to the Chinese people over comments by their star striker Kylian Mbappe, in an attempt to contain a row that has already cost the Frenchman several sponsorship deals and knocked Spanish league football off Chinese state television.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the 15-time European champions said they wished to "express its apologies to the Chinese people" for any offence caused by the recent remarks of their player, and that the club "joins in the public apology" Mbappe had made a day earlier.

How the row started

The storm began with a clip from an online interview on the French show The Bridge, which has since been taken down. In it, Mbappe, 27, spoke about a favourite internet meme that placed his face on "some guy, think he's a Chinese dictator", which was widely read as a reference to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China. Mocking Mao, whom historians blame for millions of deaths, remains taboo in China.

On Tuesday, Mbappe apologised in French, Chinese and English. "My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world," he said, according to AFP.

A costly fallout

The reaction in China was swift. China Media Group (CMG), which oversees state broadcaster CCTV, suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches and other games featuring the player, and demanded apologies from the league, the club and Mbappe. The Associated Press reported that CMG acknowledged receiving Madrid's apology but gave no further comment, and there was no word on when broadcasts would resume.

  • Beverage maker Dongpeng and dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground ended their partnerships with the striker, AFP reported.
  • His accounts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu, where he has more than a million followers, were frozen.
  • La Liga said it "deeply regrets the offence" the remarks caused among Chinese fans.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing that the government took "seriously" the apology made by the individual concerned. The state-run Global Times had earlier blamed the club's "longstanding tolerance" of such behaviour for the remarks.

In its statement, Madrid said it holds "deep respect for China, its history, its culture, and its citizens", and spoke of the millions of Chinese fans who follow the club.

Echoes of the NBA dispute

China is one of the most valuable markets for European football clubs, and the episode recalls the 2019 dispute in which Chinese state TV pulled NBA games for a year after a Houston Rockets executive tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters.

It remains unclear whether the apologies will be enough to win back the brand deals Mbappe lost or restore La Liga's place on Chinese screens, where the league competes with the English Premier League for viewers.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons/MottaW (CC BY 4.0); Wikimedia Commons/Jester77aa08 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.