Image source, CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images- Published9 hours ago
On Monday night, as Kylian Mbappé was attending the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London, he was also becoming the centre of a huge controversy on Chinese social media.
Football fans had stumbled upon a clip of him joking about the meme that makes him "laugh the most" - where his face is superimposed on a "Chinese dictator" resembling Mao Zedong, who oversaw one of the bloodiest chapters in the country's past.
The controversy spread like wildfire as Chinese brands cut him off one by one and China Media Group, the parent group of state broadcaster CCTV, suspended broadcasts of La Liga matches. A foreign ministry spokesperson said: "Words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of Chinese society."
