Kylian Mbappé apologises for 'ill-judged' remarks after Chinese sponsors drop him over meme joke

Kylian Mbappé has apologised for remarks that he made about Mao Zedong relating to a meme associating him with the political leader.

Mbappé called the remarks on the French talk show The Bridge 'ill-judged' after they sparked controversy in China, including a number of Chinese companies cutting ties with the footballer.

During the show Mbappé spoke about a meme which portrays him as the Chinese leader Mao Zedong, saying: "that makes me laugh the most, it's the one where there's a video of a guy, I think it's a Chinese dictator..."

The meme in question superimposes Mbappé onto Mao in a joke about Mbappé's enormous influence in football which has led to him being jokingly referred to as a 'dictator'.

In a statement released after the controversy, Mbappé said: "My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world. I apologise to everyone my words have upset."

An apology was also issued by La Liga in Spain, as Mbappé plays for Real Madrid, which said that it deeply regrets the offence that Kylian Mbappé's recent comments have caused among Chinese fans', the BBC reports.

Mbappé has apologised for the comments (Diego Souto/Getty Images)

The remarks caused outrage in China, where the Chinese Communist Party still reveres Mao as the founder of the People's Republic of China

Mao was a communist who ruled in China from 1949 until his death 1976, seizing power after a bloody civil war which had originally started in the 1920s.

Due to his status as the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao is a figure treated with extreme sensitivity in China, a big factor in Chinese brands being so quick to drop Mbappé despite his celebrity status.

China's largest dairy producer Mengniu issued a statement saying that it 'firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any words or actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people'.

Meanwhile Dongpeng, a drink corporation, said in a statement: "Our company firmly opposes and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that offends national sentiments."

The clip was shared on Dongqiudi, a football forum in China, which called the comments 'inappropriate' and said that they 'hurt the feelings of Chinese people'.

Mao was the founder of the People's Republic of China and an extremely sensitive subject in the country (Getty)

Since then the clip started to circulate on social media in China, leading to heavy criticism of Mbappé and calls for boycotts of Real Madrid over the comments.

The matter has even drawn the attention of the Chinese foreign ministry.

Spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry Lin Jian said in a statement: "We have noted the relevant reports. Words and deeds that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with opposition from all sectors of Chinese society."

While it's not known exactly when Mbappé started to be referred to using the nickname 'the dictator' it has been at the centre of jokes about Mbappé online.

Mao is not the only person to have been associated with Mbappé in this way, with his teammate on the France national team Ousmane Dembele describing him as 'Mbappé Mobut' in a reference to the former dictator of the Democratic Republic of Congo Mobutu Sese Seko.

Mbappé has previously addressed the memes about his nickname, telling France Football in September: "There's a side that's a bit less funny, because we know the damage people like that have caused throughout history."