Real Madrid apologises to Chinese people over Mbappé remarks

Real Madrid issued a formal apology to the Chinese people over remarks by its French star Kylian Mbappé that appeared to joke about the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, a row that led to the suspension of La Liga broadcasts in China.

In a statement about 24 hours after the controversy erupted, the club apologised for any offence caused by its player's comments and said it joined the public apology Mbappé had made himself. It came after China's foreign ministry said it takes the player's apology “seriously”.

Mbappé apologised on Tuesday in a statement in French, Chinese and English, calling his comment “unfortunate”. Several Chinese companies have ended deals with him, including beverage group Dongpeng and dairy firms Mengniu and Milkground, his accounts on two Chinese social platforms were frozen, and state television suspended La Liga broadcasts.

Mbappé is hugely popular in China, where jokes about Mao, founder of the People's Republic who died in 1976, remain a sensitive subject.