Kylian Mbappé apologises after being dropped by Chinese brands for Mao Zedong comment

Video appears to show Mao Zedong called a ‘dictator’ Dongpeng and Mengniu end deals with the player Kylian Mbappé has apologised after the Real Madrid forward was dropped by major Chinese brands for apparently joking about Mao Zedong in a video that has gone viral.

There were also signs of broader repercussions, with the state-run Chinese digital newspaper The Paper reporting that public television was suspending broadcasts of matches from La Liga. The offending video shows Mbappé saying that the funniest internet…