Real Madrid issued a formal apology to the Chinese government on Wednesday after state-run broadcaster CCTV demanded one, pulling La Liga games off Chinese television until the club complied.
The dispute began when forward Kylian Mbappe laughed on a French talk show, The Bridge, about a meme superimposing his face on an image resembling Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist dictator whose rule led to tens of millions of deaths. Mbappe has long carried the nickname “The Dictator,” which inspired the meme during the show, hosted by his Real Madrid teammate Aurelien Tchouameni.
Chinese reaction was swift. Several of Mbappe’s Chinese sponsors cut ties with him, and CCTV stopped airing La Liga, Spain’s top soccer league, which includes Real Madrid and 19 other clubs.
La Liga itself apologized almost immediately, stating that Mbappe’s remarks did not reflect the league’s views. Mbappe followed with his own public apology, saying he now understood his comments “hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.”
Real Madrid initially held a different line. The club told the Spanish outlet Okdiario that it viewed Mbappe’s comments as personal expression, did not believe he intended to offend anyone in China, and did not think the episode would damage its commercial relationships there.
CCTV rejected that position outright, stating it did “not accept this attitude” from the club and that no further discussions would proceed until an apology was issued.
Real Madrid reversed course within hours. In a statement, the club said:
“Real Madrid C.F. wishes to apologize to the Chinese people for any distress that may have been caused by the recent remarks made by our player, Kylian Mbappé. Our club holds deep respect for China — its history, its culture, and its citizens—as well as for the millions of Chinese fans who feel affection and admiration for Real Madrid.”
The club’s brief defense of Mbappe’s freedom of expression lasted only a matter of hours before commercial pressure from Chinese state media brought a public apology instead.
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