Dongpeng, Mengniu end Mbappé ties after apparent Mao reference

By Olivia Hart

Dongpeng and Mengniu ended all cooperation with Kylian Mbappé on Tuesday after an online video apparently referenced Mao Zedong, with both brands citing offense to Chinese national sentiment.

Mbappé, the 27-year-old France captain and Real Madrid forward, remained hugely popular among Chinese fans before the episode, with millions of followers on Chinese social media. Mengniu, China’s largest dairy producer, and Dongpeng, a drinks giant, both said their terminations took effect immediately.

What did the brands actually end?

Dongpeng said: “Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments,” adding that “with immediate effect we are terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe”.

The drinks company’s campaign used AI-generated images of Mbappé drinking a Dongpeng sports drink. Those advertisements appeared regularly in China during this year’s World Cup. The source disclosed no contract value, campaign spending, sales contribution or termination payment, leaving the commercial scale unmeasured.

Mengniu said: “With immediate effect our company is terminating all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe,” and added: “Mengniu firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”

Both companies framed their decisions as violations of categorical rules. The source did not explain how either zero-tolerance policy had been applied before.

Mbappé also carried the nickname “Guigui,” the Chinese translation of “Turtle.” The nickname reflected his popularity as a character in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meme. That popularity formed his commercial profile, although neither company quantified the audience it was losing.

Takeaway: Both sponsors acted at once, but neither disclosed what ending the partnerships cost.

What does the video show?

The clip that circulated online appeared to show Mbappé describing the funniest internet meme he had seen. He said the image used his face photo-shopped onto “some guy – I think he’s a Chinese dictator”.

The apparent reference was to a meme superimposing Mbappé’s face on an image of Mao Zedong, China’s founding leader, who died in 1976. In China, people treat jokes about Mao as disrespectful, and such jokes remain a social taboo. The meme formed part of a series using Mbappé’s face and other historical figures. That pattern supplies context, not authentication.

AFP Fact Check said it could not immediately verify the video’s authenticity. Neither company said whether it had authenticated the recording before acting, and the source did not identify who first posted or edited it. The decisive fact therefore remained unresolved: whether Mbappé made the remark as recorded.

In September, Mbappé addressed a previous meme depicting him as a military dictator in an interview with L’Equipe. He said:

“There’s a part of it that’s funny. You can tell that, for some people, it’s all in good fun. But there is another part that is a bit less funny because of the damage such people have caused throughout history.”

He added:

“Being compared to individuals who murder others, or who have brought misery to millions upon millions of people – well, I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that in my life.”

His earlier comments show awareness of the historical sensitivity surrounding dictator imagery. They do not establish what he said in the later clip.

Takeaway: The sponsors acted on an apparent reference, while the central piece of evidence remained unverified.

Why did the response extend beyond two sponsors?

Weibo’s top-trending topic was “Dongpeng Beverage ends cooperation with Mbappe”. One user said the “extremely serious wrong remarks … crossed the red line. They are completely unacceptable”. Other users urged Dongpeng to remove Mbappé’s image from its energy-drink bottles.

Dongqiudi, described as one of China’s biggest online football outlets, said in a Monday evening statement that the remarks were “offensive to China and the Chinese people” and “have hurt the feelings of Chinese football fans and the Chinese people”.

The furore came a day after Mbappé lost to Harry Kane for the Ballon d’Or, described as football’s most prestigious individual award. The source offered no evidence that the award result influenced either company’s decision.

User reaction focused on whether the player’s image would remain on bottles. That made the dispute concrete at the packaging level, even though no removal had been reported.

Takeaway: The dispute moved beyond two contracts to a visible demand for product changes.

What does China’s sponsorship precedent show?

Global sports stars who have commented on sensitive topics such as Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong have previously caused controversy in China and been dropped by sponsors there.

In 2023, former NBA player Dwight Howard referred to Taiwan as a country while appearing in a video with the island’s vice-president and current president Lai Ching-te. His remarks sparked fury on Chinese social media. Beijing claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

In 2019, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet supporting Hong Kong protests. China responded by suspending sponsorship deals with the NBA and pulling games off Chinese television for a year.

The earlier cases produced league-wide consequences; the Mbappé episode has produced two sponsor terminations. Both show how political sensitivity in China can turn one person’s words into commercial action. The difference is verification: this case rests on a clip that AFP Fact Check could not immediately authenticate.

The next test is practical: whether Dongpeng removes Mbappé from bottles and whether other sponsors follow. Neither outcome had been reported.

Takeaway: The evidence supports fast brand withdrawals, not yet a wider industry boycott.