Tebas apologises to Chinese people over Mbappé controversy

LaLiga president Tebas apologised to China after Mbappé's comments about a meme comparing him to Mao Zedong; China suspended LaLiga broadcasts in response.

Kylian Mbappé has drawn international attention not only for narrowly missing the Ballon d'Or but for offending China with recent comments in which he said one of his favourite memes about himself was one comparing him to "Chinese dictator" Mao Zedong.

The remarks angered the Chinese government, which suspended LaLiga broadcasts on its state television. In response, LaLiga president Javier Tebas issued a statement on X apologising to the Chinese people. "LaLiga deeply regrets Kylian Mbappé's statements that have caused distress and offence in China," Tebas said. "We understand the harm caused and, on behalf of LaLiga, I want to convey our sincere apologies to the Chinese people. For many years we have built a relationship of respect, trust and cooperation with China, its authorities, its sports institutions, its audiovisual operators and millions of Spanish football fans. We cannot allow an individual action to tarnish that relationship or harm the more than 20 clubs in our professional competitions and millions of Chinese fans."

Tebas added that LaLiga is taking measures to resolve the situation and working directly with partners in China to overcome it, emphasising that a relationship built over many years cannot be damaged by a single episode.