A reckless statement slandering a deceased great leader of China has cost French football star Mbappé far more than just an apology can atone for.
Chinese brands have successively terminated their agreements, related advertisements have been removed, and the broadcasting of Spanish football matches has been affected. Facing the rapidly escalating controversy, Mbappe and the Spanish football league have both publicly apologized. The chairman of the Spanish football league, Távora, even took personal action to "stop the fire," attempting to regain the trust of the Chinese market.
However, Mbappé's contract may not be restored just because of an apology. The potential loss of business opportunities is hard to estimate. It might be even more difficult to regain the lost Chinese fans and rebuild a "casual fan base."
Sports commentator Xiao Zheng told the Observer Network that the rapid apologies from Mbappe to the Spanish league reflect the growing importance of the Chinese market for European clubs and stars. In contrast, Real Madrid, where Mbappe plays, only emphasized that 'business continues as usual' and cooperation remains normal. 'This is not the first time such a situation has occurred.'
In Ye Zheng's view, if Real Madrid continues to avoid the emotional demands of fans in this manner, it may still face continuous impacts from public opinion and business aspects in the future.
Mbappé paid the price for his ignorance
This controversy stems from a French interview video that has been re-released on the internet recently. The video was filmed several months ago, but it was re-released around October 26th, quickly causing an uproar in public opinion.
The commercial consequences came particularly quickly.
According to Reuters on the 27th, Chinese companies such as Dongpeng Beverage, Mengniu Dairy, and Miaoke Lan Duo have successively announced the termination of their business partnerships with Mbappe. The relevant companies stated that they firmly oppose any statements or actions that harm the national feelings of the Chinese people.
In addition, Mbappe's Rednote account has been banned, and he is not allowed to follow others on Rednote. He has 1.05 million followers on Rednote.
The controversy also affected the broadcast of Spanish football matches. CCTV suspended the broadcast of relevant Spanish football matches, and some advertisements and promotional content featuring Mbappe were also affected.
On October 27th local time, Mbappé issued a apology statement through social media X, in Chinese, French, and English.
He admitted that his remarks were inappropriate, and stated that he now understands how these words have hurt the feelings of many Chinese people around the world.
I apologize to everyone who has felt uncomfortable due to my words. This was never my intention. Mbappé said that he deeply respects the Chinese people and their history, and sincerely expresses his apologies.
However, it remains unknown whether a few apologies can salvage the already damaged business partnership. Mbappé chose to post an apology on the social platform X, while his much larger fan base on Instagram had not posted any related apologies as of the time of publication.
According to reports by French newspaper Le Monde on the 27th, various industry media estimate that Mbappe's contract with a relevant Chinese brand is worth approximately 50 million yuan, which is equivalent to about 6.7 million euros. This figure represents an estimated value of the contract, and does not correspond to the actual economic losses caused by this incident.
It is also worth noting that this incident may affect Real Madrid's own commercial interests.
Spanish sports media outlet Marca reported on the 27th that Mbappe signed a special contract when he joined Real Madrid, granting him nearly 80% of the rights revenue from his portrait. Typically, Real Madrid players share this revenue evenly with the club, with only a few superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo being exceptions.
This means that even if Mbappé retains most of the royalties from his image rights, Real Madrid may still earn shares from some related commercial partnerships. The termination of the contract between the Chinese brand and Mbappé could also result in the club losing some of the revenue it was originally entitled to.
According to Forbes estimates, Mbappe earns about 100 million euros per year, of which approximately 30 million euros comes from various commercial sponsorships. However, there is no publicly available data that can accurately calculate the actual losses caused by this termination with a Chinese brand.
Besides sponsorship income, Real Madrid faces risks in sales of its jerseys and merchandise in China.
According to the Marca newspaper, the Chinese market contributes approximately 10% to 15% of Real Madrid’s international merchandise sales. Mbappé’s jersey is one of the best-selling products. The report also mentioned that fans at Chinese football forums like "Dongqiu Di" have initiated campaigns to boycott the purchase of Mbappé’s official merchandise.
This proportion does not mean that Real Madrid has lost 10% to 15% of its sales revenue. However, it at least indicates that changes in the attitudes of Chinese consumers could directly affect the club’s commercial interests.
The French newspaper Le Monde also cited data from market research firm Nielsen Sports, stating that Real Madrid has approximately 97 million fans in China, making China one of its most important overseas fan markets.
From personal endorsements to ownership of portraits, and then to jersey sales and tournament broadcasts, Mbappé's slip of the tongue has triggered a chain reaction that goes beyond the scope of a single player.
Compared to Mbappe and the Spanish football league's quick response, Real Madrid has been acting like a coward.
According to a report by the Spanish newspaper OK Daily on October 28th, Real Madrid stated to this media that Mbappé's controversial remarks were only his personal views, and he has also publicly clarified his position.
Real Madrid also stated that the Chinese sponsors understand the context of the remarks and also realize that the players had no intention of causing offense. At present, the cooperation agreement between the club and the Chinese sponsors has not been terminated, and there has been no change in the relationship between the two parties.
The focus of this response is to distinguish between individual player statements and the club's position and commercial cooperation. It should be noted that the above statement comes from information cited by the Spanish Football Federation, and is not an official public statement issued by the club.
But the problem is that Real Madrid is not just an observer of Mbappé’s commercial value.
Since Real Madrid enjoys the commercial benefits brought by Mbappé, when his words and actions cause controversy and hurt the feelings of Chinese fans, should Real Madrid also bear the corresponding club management responsibilities?
This is precisely where Real Madrid's response is likely to raise questions: on one hand, they emphasize that their cooperation with Chinese sponsors will continue as usual; on the other hand, they do not directly address the emotional needs of Chinese fans. Such an attitude inevitably gives the impression that they are only willing to share the commercial value of their players, but unwilling to take the corresponding responsibilities.
In contrast, the Spanish football league has been far more proactive in its response.
On the 27th, the Spanish football league issued a statement expressing regret over the offense caused by Mbappé's remarks to Chinese fans. The league emphasized that these remarks were only the personal views of the player and did not represent the position of the league. The league also apologized on behalf of itself and its clubs.
La Liga Chairman Tevas also publicly apologized to the Chinese people on social media X.
He stated that the Spanish La Liga has established relationships of mutual respect, trust, and cooperation with Chinese institutions, broadcasting partners, and a large number of fans over the years. It is unacceptable for the actions of individual players to damage these relationships, nor should other clubs in the Spanish professional league and millions of Chinese fans be affected.
According to Reuters, Teva also met with the Chinese ambassador to Spain to seek a proper solution to the controversy.
Facing the same pressure from the Chinese market, the Spanish football league emphasizes respect and communication, while Real Madrid focuses on the individual responsibilities of players and the stability of commercial cooperation. These two different approaches form a stark contrast.
S&M Agency consulting company advisor David (Sharon Adesola David) told Bloomberg: “Mbappe and the Bundesliga League so swiftly issued an apology, indicating that they clearly recognize this dispute cannot be left to fester independently.”
She further stated, "Companies cannot simply regard China as a market that brings consumers and revenue. They also need to understand the historical and political context in which Chinese consumers interact with brands."
Sports commentator Xiao Zheng told the Observer Network that both Mbappé himself and the Spanish La Liga league have quickly issued formal apologies, indicating that the Chinese market is becoming increasingly important for European clubs and international stars.
He pointed out that the Spanish football world has always placed great importance on the Chinese market. From top leagues to lower-tier leagues, there is Chinese capital involved. When Chinese players go to Europe for development, Spain is often their choice. The Spanish football world is relatively familiar with the Chinese market, and naturally, they do not want to damage long-term cooperation relationships due to a single player's personal remarks.
Regarding Real Madrid's ambiguous attitude, Xiao Zheng believes that Real Madrid has already faced controversy involving China in the past, and the impact of this incident is not yet completely over. If the club fails to respond promptly to the concerns of Chinese fans, it may still face public opinion and commercial pressure in the future.
Xiao Zheng also compared this incident with the incident involving the Houston Rockets' team in the NBA in 2019.
In October 2019, the then-general manager of the rocket team, Morey, made controversial statements related to Hong Kong, China on social media, which caused strong dissatisfaction among Chinese society.
Although Moore later expressed his apologies, the NBA initially regretted the offense caused to Chinese fans. However, NBA President Stephen Silber clearly stated that the league would not apologize or impose any penalties on Moore for his so-called 'freedom of speech' actions.
Since then, the broadcast and commercial cooperation of NBA events in China has been affected for a long time.
In Ye Zheng's view, compared to the handling of matters by the NBA back then, the swift public apologies made by Mbappé himself and La Liga reflect the growing influence of the Chinese fan market and Chinese business partners in the international sports industry.
This influence comes not only from the large number of fans, but also from partnerships in various fields such as commercial sponsorship, event copyrights, and product sales.
Xiao Zheng emphasized that Mbappé's remarks were inappropriate, and he should bear the corresponding responsibility. He believes that the player has already apologized publicly, and this incident should serve as a lesson for him to reflect on the responsibilities of public figures' statements.
As a sports star with global influence, Mbappé should be more cautious when discussing topics related to the history of other countries in public settings.
Now, Mbappé has apologized, and the Spanish football league has also expressed its regrets. In contrast, Real Madrid still mainly emphasized that there are no changes in their sponsorship agreements.
But as the Málaga newspaper pointed out, Real Madrid is not completely off the hook either. Even if the sponsorship contract remains unaffected for now, fans’ trust and spending intentions cannot be sustained solely by the contract.
Real Madrid's arrogant stance is beginning to have an impact. On October 28th, a spokesman for the Central Radio and Television General Station's Sports and Youth Center stated clearly that Mbappé's inappropriate remarks had hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, and Real Madrid, as the club he belongs to, bears responsibility for this. The station does not acknowledge Real Madrid's claim of "intent not to offend," nor does it accept their current attitude. It emphasized, "Until Real Madrid makes an appropriate apology, there is no point in discussing anything further."
Chinese fans have long shown support for Real Madrid, not just based on figures in financial reports. For a football club with a global reputation, respecting the emotional needs of these fans is also an important aspect of maintaining its brand value.
Performance on the field can earn applause, commercial contracts can bring income, and the "understanding" of sponsors can keep the numbers on the reports. But the trust of fans is never written into contracts.
Real Madrid can emphasize that cooperation continues and business as usual, but what truly determines whether a club can maintain its support over time is not whether the contract ends or not, but whether it is willing to take a proper attitude when fans are offended.
