Mbappe’s Mao Zedong controversy puts Real Madrid’s China millions at risk as boycott hits Spanish football

MADRID, Oct 29 — Faced with a widespread boycott in China following the controversy sparked by Kylian Mbappe’s comments about Mao Zedong, Real Madrid added its own apology on Tuesday.

The move was widely viewed as a move by the Spanish giants and 15-time European champions to protect their commercial interests in China.

The furore was unleashed after a short video clip showed a meme depicting Mbappe as Mao Zedong, whom he calls a “Chinese dictator.”

Three sponsors have dropped Mbappe and Chinese state TV has suspended the broadcast of Spanish league matches, jeopardizing La Liga’s international development strategy.

Key market for La Liga

The apologies from La Liga and its president, Javier Tebas, as well as by Mbappe and Real Madrid, have so far failed to calm the situation.

They have though served to highlight the crucial importance of the Chinese market for Spanish football.

A source within La Liga told AFP that China and the United States alone finance the “majority” of the international broadcasting rights, which were valued at 748 million euros (US$834 million) for the 2024-25 season.

According to La Liga, the matches broadcast on state-run CCTV are among the most-watched sporting events in the country.

Since 2016, La Liga has even adapted its schedule to Asian time zones, which has allowed it to significantly increase its viewership and, consequently, the value of its international TV rights.

On August 3, La Liga announced a new agreement with digital giant Migu, a subsidiary of China Mobile, to broadcast 380 matches a season until 2030, saying it confirmed “the league’s long-term commitment to developing its fan base in China”.

Jerseys and sponsors

In addition to these global contracts, the two giants of Spanish football, Real Madrid and Barcelona, each have multi-million-euro investments in China.

According to the Real Madrid-affiliated newspaper Marca, the Madrid club generates between 10 and 15 per cent of its sales of jerseys and merchandise in China.

Real Madrid also counts Chinese companies among its main sponsors with Hisense, sports betting firm Kaiyun Sports and Linglong Tire all featuring prominently.

Real Madrid’s veteran president Florentino Perez, who made his fortune in construction through his publicly traded ACS group, owns several subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong.

As part of a development agreement between La Liga and Chinese sports institutions, Real Madrid and Barcelona have played several pre-season friendlies in Asia against Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean teams in recent years.

In a statement to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Barcelona, which has opened several football academies in the country, estimated that it had more supporters in Asia “than in Europe and America combined”. — AFP

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马德里，10 月 29 日——由于基利安·姆巴佩发表了有关毛泽东的言论，引发了中国方面的广泛抵制，皇家马德里俱乐部周二也发表了道歉声明。

此举被广泛认为是这家西班牙豪门俱乐部（15次欧洲冠军得主）为了保护其在中国的商业利益而采取的行动。

一段短视频引发轩然大波，视频中出现了一张将姆巴佩描绘成毛泽东的表情包，姆巴佩称毛泽东为“中国独裁者”。

姆巴佩的赞助商三家已终止合作，中国国家电视台也已暂停转播西甲联赛，这危及了西甲的国际发展战略。

西甲联赛的关键市场

西甲联赛及其主席哈维尔·特巴斯，以及姆巴佩和皇家马德里的道歉，迄今为止都未能平息事态。

不过，这些事件也凸显了中国市场对西班牙足球的重要性。

西甲联赛内部人士告诉法新社，中国和美国单独出资支付了“大部分”国际转播权费用，2024-25赛季的国际转播权价值7.48亿欧元（8.34亿美元）。

据西甲联赛称，通过国营中央电视台转播的比赛是该国收视率最高的体育赛事之一。

自 2016 年以来，西甲联赛甚至调整了赛程以适应亚洲时区，这使其收视率大幅提升，从而提高了其国际电视转播权的价值。

8 月 3 日，西甲联赛宣布与中国移动旗下的数字巨头咪咕达成一项新协议，将在中国转播 380 场比赛，直至 2030 年。西甲表示，此举确认了“联赛长期致力于在中国发展其球迷群体的承诺”。

球衣和赞助商

除了这些全球合同外，西班牙足球的两大豪门皇家马德里和巴塞罗那在中国也分别拥有数百万欧元的投资。

据皇家马德里俱乐部旗下报纸《马卡报》报道，马德里俱乐部球衣和周边商品销售额的 10% 到 15% 来自中国。

皇家马德里的主要赞助商中也有不少中国公司，包括海信、体育博彩公司凯云体育和玲珑轮胎等。

皇家马德里俱乐部资深主席弗洛伦蒂诺·佩雷斯通过其上市的ACS集团在建筑业发家致富，在中国和香港拥有多家子公司。

作为西甲联赛与中国体育机构之间发展协议的一部分，皇家马德里和巴塞罗那近年来在亚洲与中国、日本和韩国的球队进行了多场季前友谊赛。

巴塞罗那足球俱乐部在庆祝中国新年之际发表声明，称其在亚洲的球迷数量“超过了欧洲和美洲球迷的总和”。巴塞罗那已在中国开设了多家足球学院。——法新社

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