I’m up early to tell you that Mbappé has caused a crisis with China by laughing at himself. They asked him about some of the memes that circulate about him and which one he found funniest. In a relaxed interview, laughing, he innocently answered that he often used one with his friends in which they superimposed his face on the image of a Chinese dictator. So, without further allusions.
You also don’t have to be very clever to know who it is after browsing the internet for a few seconds. Mbappé, without saying it, was referring to an image of Mao Zedong, who died 50 years ago.
That reference generated an immediate response in China, in another example of the thin skin they show when faced with any reference to their political leaders. State television announced that it was suspending the broadcast of LaLiga in its country and the withdrawal of advertisements and videos starring the French footballer, and several brands communicated the cessation of their commercial cooperation with Mbappé by expressing their rejection of behavior that hurts the feelings of the Chinese people.
Javier Tebas, the president of LaLiga, quickly responded, censoring the player’s statement, apologized, met urgently with the Chinese ambassador in Spain and tried to save the millions of euros that the Asian giant contributes in a strategic market for our football. And Mbappé himself apologized, in a statement on his social networks in several languages.
In short, everyone has apologized for calling a dictator a dictator. Thin skin when money is at stake. Because Tebas is the same one who compared, just a few days ago, Real Madrid’s communication policy with that of Nazi Germany. And don’t think he apologized. It is seen that, for the football business, Tebas believes that it is more important to respect Mao Tse-Tung than Florentino Pérez.
