Mbappé, Mao and China: How a Football Meme Sparked a Political Firestorm

Kylian Mbappé made a joke about a meme featuring Mao Zedong. Within hours, the Real Madrid superstar was facing a major backlash in China.

Chinese sponsors cut ties with him, state television suspended La Liga broadcasts, and his social media presence came under restrictions. Yet many Chinese internet users were left asking the same question: What did Mbappé actually say?

The controversy began with an old interview clip in which Mbappé referred to a meme depicting him as a Chinese dictator—without explicitly naming Mao. The reaction quickly escalated into a dispute involving Chinese media, major brands, Real Madrid, La Liga, and the Chinese government.

Why did the backlash erupt months after the interview was recorded? Why was the original remark so difficult to find on Chinese social media? And why did Mbappé apologize?

In this episode, we reconstruct the timeline, explain the origins of the “Dictator Mbappé” meme, examine China's response, and explore the larger questions surrounding censorship, freedom of expression, and the influence of the Chinese market on international sports.

We also revisit the NBA's 2019 Hong Kong controversy to understand what happens when global sports organizations collide with Beijing's political sensitivities.

Was this simply a viral controversy—or does it reveal something deeper about the relationship between sports, business, and political power in China?

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