Mbappé at the center of a Chinese crisis after a clip about Mao
Forced to accept his second place in the Ballon d’Or behind Harry Kane, the captain of Les Bleus, Kylian Mbappé, was thrown into a whirlwind the day after the ceremony. The scandal stems from a short video filmed last spring for the show The Bridge by Aurélien Tchouaméni, in which the footballer describes Mao Zedong as a “Chinese dictator” in a light‑hearted tone.
The excerpt, once resurfaced, sparked a violent crisis in China, leaving the Frenchman more isolated than ever. At the same time, the Chinese brands he was under contract with abandoned him and the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, distanced himself from him, financial considerations prevailing.
Nevertheless, the Real Madrid striker can still count on the support of the French Football Federation. This Thursday, the FFF director, Philippe Diallo, intervened with Ouest‑France to defend Mbappé.
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“I saw that there was a controversy surrounding Kylian, certainly a bit too strong because I don’t think Kylian intended in any way to damage the image of a Chinese leader, nor to insult the Chinese people in any way. It’s a controversy that should not last because Kylian explained very well the context in which this intervention took place. He apologized and I believe we should now leave it at that,” Diallo said.
Diallo says China backlash against Mbappe is a little exaggerated