Mbappé-Mao row escalates as Chinese government condemns France captain

Mbappé lost three Chinese sponsorship deals after a video showed him joking about Mao Zedong; Beijing condemned the remarks as offensive to national sentiment.

A video circulating online showed Kylian Mbappé making jokes about Mao Zedong, China's former leader. The remarks sparked significant backlash in China, with the French captain losing three sponsorship contracts with Chinese companies as a result.

Beijing's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun issued a formal statement on Tuesday, saying that "any remarks or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people naturally meet with common rejection from all of Chinese society." The controversy has escalated to government level, marking a rare instance of a major diplomatic response to a footballer's comments.