# Mbappé apologizes amid pressure from China, but many still do not know what he said

https://mins.news/en/item/121661

- BBC Chinese, 2026-10-30 00:23 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/articles/ck4g18ql0vj9o/trad?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> A joke by Kylian Mbappé about a meme placing his face on an image resembling Mao Zedong sparked outrage on Chinese social media. Chinese brands distanced themselves from him, and state broadcaster CCTV suspended Spanish league broadcasts. Mbappé, Real Madrid and the league apologized, while censorship has left many online users unclear about the controversy’s origins.

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