Afghanistan, Oct. 27 -- Kylian Mbappe apologized on Tuesday after a remark that appeared to call Mao Zedong a "Chinese dictator" cost him at least three sponsorship deals in China and set off a wave of anger online.
"My comment was ill-judged," the 27-year-old France captain and Real Madrid forward wrote on X. He said he now understood that his words had hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world, and that he had deep respect for the Chinese people and their history.
The row began with a short clip that circulated on X and appeared to show Mbappe being interviewed before an appearance on the French online talk show The Bridge. Talking about memes of himself, he said the funniest one placed his face on a picture ...