Major Chinese brands have dropped Kylian Mbappe from their campaigns. (EPA Images pic)BEIJING: Kylian Mbappe apologised on Tuesday after the Real Madrid star was dropped by major Chinese brands for apparently joking about Mao Zedong in a video that has gone viral.
The row deepened when, despite La Liga also apologising, state-owned China Media Group (CMG) said Chinese state television was suspending broadcasts of matches from the Spanish league.
The offending video shows Mbappe saying that the funniest internet meme he had seen involving him was of his face photo-shopped onto that of "some guy -- I think he's a Chinese dictator".
This was an apparent reference to a meme of Mbappe superimposed on an image of Mao.
