Ballon d'Or 2026: Kylian Mbappé loses two sponsors after his failure

The Frenchman loses major contracts

Ballon d'Or Today at 06:36

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Ballon d'Or 2026: Kylian Mbappé loses two sponsors after his failure

Just one day after narrowly losing the 2026 Ballon d’Or to Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé is facing turmoil in China. The reason is a video that sparked widespread controversy and prompted two companies to end their collaboration with the Real Madrid star.

Kylian Mbappé had a difficult evening on Monday. After seeing the 2026 Ballon d'Or slip away from him, the French striker learned that two major Chinese companies, beverage giant Dongpeng and dairy industry giant Mengniu, had decided to end their collaboration with him. This came notably after a video in which the player appears to describe Mao Zedong as a "dictator".

In the clip, Mbappé says that the funniest internet meme he has seen is a photo montage of his face superimposed onto that of a "Chinese dictator", apparently referring to the former historic leader of China. "Our company firmly opposes any behavior that hurts national sentiments and applies a zero-tolerance policy in this regard. We are ending all collaboration with Kylian Mbappé with immediate effect," Dongpeng announced in a statement.

🚨🚨 KYLIAN MBAPPÉ 🇫🇷 EST VRAIMENT DANS LA SAUCE EN CHINE 🇨🇳 ! 😳 La diffusion de la vidéo dans laquelle il semble plaisanter à propos de Mao Zedong ne PASSE PAS. ❌ Mbappé le qualifie de “DICTATEUR CHINOIS” lorsqu’on lui demande quel est son “meme” préféré… alors qu’il s’agit d’un personnage central et respecté de l’histoire chinoise. « 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀 𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝘂 𝗽𝗲𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮̀ 𝘂𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝗲 𝗹'𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲́𝘁𝗲́ 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲 », a déclaré un porte-parole des Affaires étrangères, Guo Jiakun. Pékin juge naturel UN « REJET COMMUN » DE KYLIAN MBAPPÉ 🇫🇷 ! 😤 LE FRANÇAIS 🇫🇷 ÉTAIT L’UNE DES ÉGÉRIES DU GÉANT DES BOISSONS DONGPENG EN CHINE 🇨🇳. (via @lequipe)
— BeFootball (@_BeFootball) October 27, 2026

The Chinese government gets involved

Following the loss of the two advertising contracts in the Middle Kingdom, Kylian Mbappé is now the target of criticism from the Chinese government. "Any statement or action that hurts the feelings of the Chinese people will naturally face collective rejection from all sectors of Chinese society," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

After beverage giant Dongpeng and dairy products giant Mengniu, cheese manufacturer Milkground has also announced the end of its collaboration with the France captain.

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Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.