Real Madrid faced backlash in China after Kylian Mbappe, the team's French star, referred to Mao Zedong, the former leader of China, as a "dictator" in an online chat and issued an official apology. On Wednesday, November 6, the club announced in a statement: "Real Madrid apologizes for any inconvenience that Kylian Mbappe's recent words have caused the Chinese people." The story began with the publication of a video from a French podcast, in which Mbappe spoke of a humorous image of his face superimposed on Mao's. "There was one person, I think it's a Chinese dictator," he said while pointing to this photo. The video was later removed, but sparked widespread reactions in China. In this country, criticizing or making fun of Mao, the founder of the People's Republic of China and the founder of the one-party system in this country, is still a very sensitive issue. Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until his death in 1976, ruled an authoritarian government based on individual power by establishing a one-party system and suppressing opposition.

Real Madrid faced backlash in China after Kylian Mbappe, the team's French star, referred to Mao Zedong, the former leader of China, as a "dictator" in an online chat and issued an official apology. On Wednesday, November 6, the club announced in a statement: "Real Madrid apologizes for any inconvenience that Kylian Mbappe's recent words have caused the Chinese people." The story began with the publication of a video from a French podcast, in which Mbappe spoke of a humorous image of his face superimposed on Mao's. "There was one person, I think it's a Chinese dictator," he said while pointing to this photo. The video was later removed, but sparked widespread reactions in China. In this country, criticizing or making fun of Mao, the founder of the People's Republic of China and the founder of the one-party system in this country, is still a very sensitive issue. Mao Zedong, who was the leader of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until his death in 1976, ruled an authoritarian government based on individual power by establishing a one-party system and suppressing opposition.