Kylian Mbappé dropped by two Chinese brands over Mao video

Kylian Mbappé lost two major sponsors in China on Tuesday after an online video appeared to show the France captain joking about former leader Mao Zedong. Dongpeng Beverage and Mengniu, the country's biggest dairy producer, both ended their deals with the Real Madrid forward.

"Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments," Dongpeng said in a statement, according to The Guardian. Mengniu took a similar line, saying it would not tolerate any words or actions that wounded the feelings of Chinese people.

In the clip, Mbappé described the funniest meme he had come across as one placing his face on a man he believed to be a Chinese dictator. AFP Fact Check was unable to confirm straight away whether the video was genuine. Mockery of Mao, who founded the modern Chinese state and died in 1976, is regarded as disrespectful and remains taboo in China.

News of the Dongpeng split topped the trending list on Weibo, while Dongqiudi, a leading Chinese football website, called the remarks offensive to the country and its people. Speaking to L'Equipe in September about an older meme casting him as a military dictator, Mbappé said part of it was less amusing given the harm such figures have done.

The row erupted a day after he finished behind Harry Kane in the Ballon d'Or voting. Sponsors in China have previously abandoned sports stars over sensitive subjects, and in 2019 a tweet backing Hong Kong protests by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey led China to suspend sponsorship deals with the NBA.