Kylian Mbappe has been dropped by Chinese brands and warned by Beijing that he faces 'rejection' after a joke about Mao Zedong.
A video circulated online in which the French Real Madrid superstar apparently mocked the former Chinese Communist Party leader.
In the footage, he said the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face photo-shopped onto that of 'some guy - I think he's a Chinese dictator'.
But, in China, jokes about Mao – the country's founding leader who died in 1976 – are considered disrespectful and remain a social taboo.
Mbappe had brand deals with the drinks giant Dongpeng and China's largest dairy producer Mengniu, who have now cut ties with the 27-year-old.
Adverts showing AI-generated images of the France captain drinking a Dongpeng sports drink were regularly shown in China during this year's World Cup.
Those firms have now dropped Mbappe after accusing him of offending the nation.
Dongpeng said in a statement: 'Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments.'
Chinese brands have dropped French football star Kylian Mbappe after he 'joked' about former leader Mao Zedong
Chairman Mao is pictured delivering a speech 'about correctly handling contradiction among the people' in Beijing in 1957
A bus featuring French football star Kylian Mbappe for Dongpeng's Bushuila electrolyte drink is seen on a street in Shanghai on October 27
The drinks giant added that 'with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe'.
Mengniu said in a statement: 'With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe.
'Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.'
Chinese state television has reportedly suspended LaLiga broadcasts involving Mbappe following the controversy, according to EFE.
Until this incident, Mbappe was hugely popular among Chinese fans with millions of followers on social media.
Mbappe is fondly nicknamed 'Guigui', the Chinese translation of 'Turtle', due to his popularity as a character in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meme.
The centre-forward's comments in the video were an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, one of several using the footballer's face and other historical figures.
'Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe' was the top-trending topic on Chinese social media site Weibo.
Mengniu milk products are seen on a shelf at a store in Beijing. The brand has dropped Mbappe after his 'joke' about Mao
Bottled Dongpeng electrolyte drink endorsed by French football star Kylian Mbappe are displayed for sale at a shop on October 27
One Weibo user said that the 'extremely serious wrong remarks... crossed the red line. They are completely unacceptable.'
Others urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappe's image from their energy drink bottles.
Dongqiudi, one of China's biggest online football outlets, said on Monday evening that Mbappe's remarks were 'offensive to China and the Chinese people' and 'have hurt the feelings of Chinese football fans and the Chinese people'.
Mbappe in September addressed a previous meme depicting him as a military dictator, in an interview with French sports newspaper L'Equipe.
He said: 'There's a part of it that's funny. You can tell that, for some people, it's all in good fun.
'But there is another part that's a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history.'
The 27-year-old added: 'Being compared to individuals who murder others, or who have brought misery to millions upon millions of people - well, I don't think I've ever done anything like that in my life.'
The furore in China came a day after Mbappe lost out to Harry Kane for the Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious individual award in football.
Global sports stars that have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong have previously caused controversy in China and been dumped by sponsors there.
Former NBA player Dwight Howard referred to Taiwan as a country in 2023 as he appeared in a video with the island's vice president and current president Lai Ching-te, sparking fury on Chinese social media.
Beijing claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet in 2019 supporting Hong Kong protests, leading to China suspending sponsorship deals with the NBA and pulling games off Chinese television for a year.