According to statements in a podcast interview, two companies in China are stopping their advertising partnerships with the French soccer star.
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Two Chinese companies have ended advertising partnerships with footballer Kylian Mbappé following podcast comments.
Two beverage manufacturers in China are ending their collaboration with French soccer star Kylian Mbappé with immediate effect. Both companies said in their communications that they have zero tolerance for behavior that hurts the feelings of the Chinese people. However, the companies did not provide any further information about how Mbappé was said to have behaved incorrectly.
The striker of the Spanish record champions Real Madrid had advertising partnerships with a sports drinks manufacturer based in Shenzhen in southern China and a company from Inner Mongolia that is well known in China for its dairy products. Among other things, his face is shown on the labels of the drinks bottles. Mbappé has many fans in China and can often be seen in advertising.
Chinese media also initially did not explain the company's decision and only referred to interview statements from the 27-year-old. The Chinese sports news portal Dongqiudi said in a statement that it could not translate Mbappé's comments because they hurt China and the Chinese people.
A meme, Mao Zedong and a podcast sentence from Mbappé
Statements from the football superstar from a podcast interview were previously circulating online. In it he was asked about his favorite meme featuring himself. Memes, for example, are photo montages that spread quickly online. In response, Mbappé shared a meme with a "guy" who he believed was a "Chinese dictator" with his face mounted on it. That’s what makes him laugh the most, said the 2018 world champion.
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After a podcast statement about an Internet meme featuring Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé has lost advertising partnerships in China. The debate was heavily censored in the People's Republic.