After Mbappe became embroiled in a controversy over 'insulting China' due to a Mao Zedong meme, some Douyin users created a 'Mbappe on Sports Hydration' meme modeled after the cover of 'Xi Jinping: The Governance of China', accompanied by 'anti-Mao' music, with the comment section using famine memes to mock Mao Zedong.
On October 30, the comment section of a Douyin post for the 'Hydrate-La' (Bu Shui La) drink endorsed by Mbappe saw comments supporting Mbappe and questioning the boycott, such as 'I'll hate whoever you tell me to' and 'Who should I hate today?'. Other netizens changed the product name to 'Hydrate-Lard' (Bu Shui La) as a satirical jab.
CCTV publicly criticized Real Madrid captain Kylian Mbappé over an incident involving malicious anti-China memes, accusing the club of allowing offensive content and demanding an explanation from Real Madrid.
French football star Kylian Mbappé called Mao Zedong a dictator, stating that he caused tens of millions of deaths and that his regime was totalitarian in nature. French public opinion views this as a statement of fact rather than a personal opinion. [Follow-up · October 28, 2026] On the evening of October 28, Marine Tondelier, National Secretary of the French Green Party, posted on X, stating that Mbappé's characterization of Mao Zedong as a dictator is historically grounded, and criticized France's repeated submission to China's economic pressure as a sign of weakness.
On October 29, Philippe Diallo, President of the French Football Federation, addressed the controversy surrounding Kylian Mbappe regarding China, stating that he does not believe Mbappe intended to damage the image of Chinese leaders or offend the Chinese people. He noted that Mbappe has apologized and the controversy should end here.
On October 29, Manu Carreño, host of the Spanish sports program ElDesmarque, commented on the Mbappé controversy, stating, "How much longer will they continue to bow down to China because of that comment by Mbappé? He didn't even lie."
On October 29, the Spanish newspaper El País published a signed commentary titled "China's Crusade Against Mbappé and Winnie the Pooh," mocking Mbappé, Real Madrid, and La Liga for their successive apologies under pressure from the Chinese market, and juxtaposing the controversy with the past censorship of Winnie the Pooh for being compared to Xi Jinping.
On October 29, the Weibo topic "Mbappé-endorsed drink sees zero sales in a single day" reached number two on the trending list. Guangdong Radio and Television reported that a merchant in Guangzhou claimed the drink had zero sales for the day, while netizens in the comments section posted photos to refute the claim, stating they were still purchasing it.
Real Madrid CF has officially issued an apology in French and Chinese regarding remarks related to Mbappé.
After Mbappé, La Liga and La Liga President Javier each apologized over the “Chinese dictator” incident, the X platform added the note “Mao Zedong was indeed a dictator” beneath each apology post.
On October 28, CCTV's Youth Sports Center stated that Mbappé's out-of-line remarks hurt the Chinese people, crossed the bottom line, and exceeded the bounds of freedom of speech, saying Real Madrid cannot shirk responsibility, that it does not accept his explanation, and that nothing will be discussed until a proper apology is made.
On October 28, as the controversy surrounding Mbappe's remarks continues to escalate, major Chinese e-commerce platforms have begun removing Mbappe-related products.
On October 28, netizens discovered that Migu had scheduled broadcasts for 9 out of 10 La Liga matches this weekend. The only one not listed was the November 1 match between Real Madrid and Racing Santander, suspected to be related to the controversy over Kylian Mbappé's Mao Zedong meme.
According to Reuters, following the controversy over Kylian Mbappé's Mao Zedong meme, La Liga has established a crisis team and contacted Real Madrid. President Javier Tebas is considering a trip to China in an attempt to prevent the incident from causing massive economic losses to Spanish football.
Reuters reported on October 28 that Kylian Mbappé is facing contract terminations from sponsors and condemnation from state media in China for calling Mao Zedong a dictator. His original remarks are largely inaccessible on the Chinese internet, with sports analysts describing the backlash as a manufactured outrage.