Kylian Mbappe loses two major China sponsorship deals over Mao Zedong joke

Kylian Mbappe was dropped Tuesday by two major brands in China after a video circulated online in which the French football star apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong. "Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments," drinks giant Dongpeng said in a statement, adding that "with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe". Mengniu, China's largest dairy producer, also cut ties with the Real Madrid and France forward. "With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe," Mengniu said in a statement. "Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people," it added. Read moreMbappé, Kane and Yamal top favourites list in wide-open 2026 Ballon d’Or race The announcements came after a video emerged online with Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme he had seen was of his face photoshopped onto that of "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator". This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao, one of several using the footballer's face...