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Mbappé’s Chinese sponsors end agreements after meme remark

Kylian Mbappé described his favourite meme as a video of a man he thought was a Chinese dictator, and Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground announced they were ending their agreements with him. The companies said they opposed words and actions that hurt national sentiment, while RedNote said its partnership with Mbappé had already ended.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

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5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 5 · R 0
Updat3 graphic: China
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Kylian Mbappé said his favourite meme was a video of a man he thought was a Chinese dictator (per livemint.com, fortune.com, stuff.co.nz).
  • Mbappé said he frequently used the meme while gaming with friends (per livemint.com).
  • Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground announced on Tuesday that they were terminating their agreements with Mbappé (per livemint.com).
  • RedNote said its content partnership with Mbappé had ended on 31 December 2024 and that it would remove related promotional materials (per livemint.com).
  • Stuff’s headline said a “Chinese dictator” remark cost Mbappé in China (per stuff.co.nz, livemint.com).
  • Yahoo Sports’ headline said Mbappé lost Chinese sponsors after a Mao meme comment (per Yahoo, livemint.com).

The brief

Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground announced they were ending their agreements with Kylian Mbappé after a comment about an online meme, according to Livemint. The companies issued similarly worded statements opposing “any words and actions that hurt national sentiment.” Livemint described the commercial decisions as following a public and commercial backlash in China.

The comment came in an exchange about Mbappé’s favourite meme of himself. Livemint reported that he described a video showing a man he thought was a Chinese dictator. The excerpt says he did not name Mao in the clip. It also reports that Mbappé said he frequently used the meme while gaming with friends.

ABC News’ headline characterized the remark as an apparent reference to Mao as a “dictator.” Stuff’s headline called it a “Chinese dictator” remark and said it cost the French soccer star in China. Yahoo Sports’ headline linked the loss of Chinese sponsors to a Mao meme comment.

These headlines describe the remark in different terms; the account in Livemint says Mbappé did not name Mao. Livemint reported that RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, said its content partnership with Mbappé had already ended on 31 December 2024. The platform said it would remove related promotional materials and also opposed conduct that hurts national sentiment.

Its statement concerns a partnership that had ended earlier, unlike the agreements Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground said they were terminating. The commercial news coincided with movements in the shares of two companies named in the story. Eastroc Beverage Group shares fell as much as 4.1 percent, while Mengniu shares dropped about 3 percent, Livemint reported.

The article does not state that the share-price movements were caused by the sponsorship announcements. ABC News’ headline says Mbappé apologized; Livemint’s excerpt describes the backlash and commercial actions but does not mention an apology. The headline does not provide details about the apology.

The documented company statements identify national sentiment as their stated concern, while the accounts describe the meme comment and commercial changes without establishing further details about how each company reached its decision.

Why it matters

  • Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground are ending agreements with Mbappé, directly changing his commercial relationships with those named companies.
  • The companies cited words and actions that hurt national sentiment as their stated reason for opposing the remark.
  • Livemint reported share-price declines of as much as 4.1 percent for Eastroc Beverage Group and about 3 percent for Mengniu; it did not establish that the announcements caused those movements.

What to watch next

  • Whether Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground provide further information about terminating their agreements with Mbappé.
  • Whether RedNote removes the promotional materials associated with Mbappé, as it said it would.
  • Whether Mbappé or his representatives provide details about the apology referenced in ABC News’ headline.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 5 Center
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 60% · Asia 40%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
5 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (5 of 5 rated sources); comparatively few Left or Right-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The People's Republic of China was established under Mao Zedong's leadership.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in China.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The Chinese Communist Party adopted a resolution assessing Mao's role and identifying serious errors in his later years.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, was founded in Shanghai in 2013 and grew into a major Chinese social-media and shopping platform.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Kylian Mbappé scored in France's World Cup final victory over Croatia.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. He joined Real Madrid in June 2024, after seven seasons at PSG.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. RedNote’s content partnership with Mbappé had ended on 31 December 2024, before the later sponsor announcements.
    Background · from our historical context
  8. Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground announced on Tuesday that they were terminating their agreements with Mbappé.
    Reported in this story's sourcesSource:livemint.com

How we got here

Kylian Mbappé’s commercial reach in China had developed alongside his rise in football: Paris Saint-Germain announced his permanent transfer from Monaco on 31 August 2017, and he won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France. He joined Real Madrid in June 2024, after seven seasons at PSG.

RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, was founded in Shanghai in 2013 and grew into a major Chinese social-media and shopping platform. The commercial backdrop included Chinese companies’ involvement in international football. Dongpeng and Milkground are Chinese consumer-goods companies whose marketing includes sports partnerships.

Original sources

3 of 5 articles · US/Canada · Show all

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