China in contact with Real Madrid, La Liga over Kylian Mbappe’s Mao comments - The Straits Times

Kylian Mbappe in action for Real Madrid against AEK Athens on Nov 4 in the Champions League.

BARCELONA - China is in contact with Real Madrid and La Liga over the fallout from Kylian Mbappe’s remarks about Mao Zedong, China’s ambassador to Spain Yao Jing said on Nov 6.

“There are no negotiations, but there is communication, based on mutual understanding,” Yao told Spanish news agency EFE before attending a forum at the University of Salamanca.

“This unfortunate incident hurt the feelings of many people in China, who now have to come to terms with the current situation,” he added.

The dispute began after a video circulated online in which the Real Madrid and France forward discussed a meme showing his face superimposed on an image of Mao.

Mbappe described the figure as “some guy, I think he’s a Chinese dictator” but did not name Mao, modern China’s founding leader who governed the country from 1949 until his death in 1976.

La Liga, Real Madrid and the French footballer all subsequently apologised.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV suspended its coverage of La Liga and several Chinese brands dropped Mbappe from their marketing campaigns.

Streaming platform Migu omitted Real Madrid’s match against Racing Santander last weekend while showing other Spanish league games.

China Media Group said last week that it would listen to what Mbappe had to say after his apology, and “more importantly” watch what he does.

La Liga president Javier Tebas met Yao last week as Spanish football sought to limit the commercial fallout and said on Nov 2 that the league was continuing its dialogue with Chinese authorities.

La Liga was “working to resolve it”, Tebas said at the World In Progress forum, adding that it continued to have an “extraordinary relationship” with CCTV and Migu.

La Liga and Migu have an agreement allowing the broadcast of Spain’s top division matches until the end of the 2029-30 season.

The La Liga president said the league’s broadcasting contracts with CCTV and Migu totalled around €10 million (S$14 million) a year, having fallen from €100 million annually at their peak.

Real Madrid did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS