An absolute mess: How a Mao Zedong meme got Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid banned from Chinese TV
He replaced Mbappé's name with the Chinese expression "chá wú cǐ rén", which means "there is no such person" or "person not found"
The Chinese sports portal Dongqiudi replaced the name of Kylian Mbappé with the expression "no such person exists" in the 2026 Ballon d'Or standings, in which the Real Madrid forward finished second, following the controversy over some remarks about a "meme" comparing him to Mao Zedong .
In the list published this Tuesday, the outlet identified the winner, England's Harry Kane, and the third-place finisher, Spain's Lamine Yamal, but replaced the Frenchman's name with the Chinese expression "chá wú cǐ rén," which means "no such person exists" or "person not found ".
Dongqiudi published a black-and-white photograph of Mbappé... as if he had died
Dongqiudi, one of China’s leading digital platforms specializing in football, also published a black-and-white photograph of Mbappé , a visual treatment that on Chinese social media is usually associated with images of deceased people .
On Monday, the portal had released a statement in which it described the footballer's remarks as "unacceptable" and stated that it would not translate them because it considered them harmful to the feelings of fans and the Chinese people.
The controversy began after Mbappé said in an interview that one of the "memes" he found most amusing showed his face over that of a "Chinese dictator," although he did not expressly mention Mao.
The controversy caused the termination this Tuesday of Mbappé's commercial agreements with the Chinese companies Dongpeng, Mengniu, and Milkground, while China's Foreign Ministry warned that words and actions that "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will be rejected by all sectors of society."
State broadcaster CCTV suspended LaLiga broadcasts, according to The Paper citing sources from the public radio and television network, while the platform Xiaohongshu (RedNote) prevents users from following the footballer's account, as EFE was able to verify, and announced the removal of content related to him, although it clarified that its commercial collaboration had ended in 2024
