Kylian Mbappe has apologised to the Chinese people after comments about Mao Zedong prompted a backlash in China, but the response from a representative of state broadcaster China Media Group was that “actions are no less important”.
The Real Madrid and France forward became the focus of controversy overnight after referring to the prominent Chinese political figure as a dictator in an interview.
Several Chinese companies subsequently announced that they were ending their partnerships with Mbappe. China Media Group also suspended its broadcasts of La Liga matches.
Mbappe later issued a public apology to the Chinese people. The broadcaster’s representative responded to those remarks, stressing that actions were no less important than words.
Mbappe finished second in the voting for the Ballon d’Or.
