Two major Chinese sponsors of Kylian Mbappe have dropped their support for the footballer after the Frenchman made jokes about Chairman Mao Zedong.
Dairy producer Mengniu and drinks firm Dongpeng have dropped the Ballon d’Or runner-up after he reportedly told French TV a meme “that makes me laugh the most…the one where there’s a video of a guy, I think it’s a Chinese dictator”.
The meme in question shows Mbappe’s face merged onto an image of Chairman Mao, the founder of Communist China after World War II. He is attributed with making decisions that caused the death of tens of millions of people through famine, and a cultural purge of political opponents.
Mbappe has been dubbed “the dictator” by pockets of football fandom given his dominance of the game in recent years.
“Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” Dongpeng said. “With immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe.”
Mengniu stated similarly, adding that it “firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”.
Mbappe dropped by China
Chinese media have reported that broadcaster CCTV has suspended LaLiga matches from its schedule as a result of the comments made, while Chinese social media site Weibo was trending with the topic overnight.
Furthermore CCTV has reportedly removed all content relating to the 27-year-old from its app and website. LaLiga has been approached for comment.
“Being compared to people who murder others, or who have made millions upon millions of people miserable… I don’t think I’ve done that in my life,” Mbappe said in a France Football interview in September.
The Frenchman was beaten to the coveted Ballon d’Or on Monday evening by England and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who became the first Englishman to win the gong for 25 years.