Real Madrid and La Liga face China backlash after Mbappe remarks

Real Madrid and La Liga have apologised to China after comments by Kylian Mbappe triggered a commercial and diplomatic crisis in one of football’s most important international markets.

Mbappe apologised in French, English and Chinese, while La Liga president Javier Tebas also issued a public apology and met China’s ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing. Real Madrid followed with its own statement about a day later, expressing regret to the Chinese people for any offence caused by the player’s remarks.

The controversy began after a clip from Mbappe’s interview with the French programme The Bridge circulated online. He discussed satirical images using his appearance, referring to one composite picture showing his face on the body of a man he described as a “Chinese dictator”, in a reference to Mao Zedong.

The comments prompted an angry reaction in China. According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the video attracted more than 430 million views on Weibo.

China’s importance to La Liga

The scale of La Liga’s commercial interests in China helps explain the rapid response.

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

La Liga’s accounts show broadcast-rights revenue of 1.576bn euros in 2024-25, with about 748m euros generated from international markets. Although the league has not disclosed the specific income received from China, the Asian market and the United States are among its main overseas sources of revenue.

Chinese state television suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches and content connected with Mbappe, while advertisements featuring the France forward were removed.

Tebas said La Liga remained committed to working with its Chinese partners and wanted to ensure that one incident did not damage the progress made or affect the millions of supporters who follow the competition. He also met Yao to reaffirm continued co-operation and the existing agreements.

Real Madrid initially sought to separate Mbappe’s personal comments from the club’s position, according to Spanish and French reports. However, that approach did not satisfy the Chinese side. In its statement, the club said it respected China, its history, culture and people, as well as the millions of Chinese supporters who hold the club in affection. It also endorsed Mbappe’s apology and reiterated its commitment to respect, coexistence and intercultural understanding.

Commercial impact

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

Real Madrid also has significant interests at stake. El Mundo reports that 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.

La Liga has spent years building its Chinese audience. The most recent Barcelona and Real Madrid match in Spain drew about 2.759 million viewers on DAZN LaLiga, while Wu Lei’s first game for Espanyol in 2019 attracted about 40 million viewers in China.

Since 2016, the league has scheduled some matches at times suited to Asian audiences, including 13:00 kick-offs in Spain, equivalent to 19:00 in Beijing. Afternoon matches are now played at 14:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Over 12 years, La Liga established offices in Shanghai and Beijing, as well as one in Hong Kong, to develop commercial and sponsorship opportunities. Their combined business exceeded 11m euros five years ago, the latest period for which figures are available.

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