The shockwaves triggered in China by Kylian Mbappé's description of Mao Zedong as a "dictator" have shaken Spanish football to such an extent that the player himself, LaLiga and its president rushed to issue statements on social media condemning the Frenchman's remarks and expressing support for China and the Chinese people.
"We sincerely regret any harm these comments may have caused," said Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga. These apologies were far from incidental. "It is a significant part of LaLiga's business," internal sources told EL MUNDO.
So what exactly has Mbappé put at risk?
On 3 August, LaLiga announced an agreement with Chinese company Migu, a subsidiary of China Mobile (the state-owned telecommunications giant), running until 2030. The contract provides for the broadcast of 380 matches per season, in addition to a range of audiovisual content. According to a study by Phillip Securities Group, China Mobile's business volume, including LaLiga broadcasting rights, is worth around ¤4 billion annually.
Migu boasts more than 520 million subscribers on its platform, and its user base is growing at more than 8% per year, according to the same report.
In its latest financial report, covering the 2024/25 season, LaLiga recorded ¤1.576 billion in broadcasting revenue. Of that figure, around 40% (¤748 million) came from international markets. While LaLiga does not disclose the exact amount generated by the Chinese market, it identifies China and the United States as its most important overseas sources of revenue, accounting for a substantial share of the money earned from the international sale of broadcasting rights.
LaLiga's relationship with China began 12 years ago, when the organisation opened one of its first overseas offices in the country. It now operates teams in Shanghai and Beijing, alongside a representative office in Hong Kong tasked with developing sponsorship and commercial partnerships. Five years ago, according to the latest available figures, those offices generated more than ¤11 million in business revenue.
To strengthen its presence in the Asian market, LaLiga began scheduling matches at 1pm Spanish time in 2016, corresponding to 7pm in Beijing. Today, lunchtime fixtures are typically played at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays. This strategy helped the competition expand its audience in China.
According to league sources, LaLiga is one of the most widely followed football competitions in the country and leads all European leagues in terms of popularity, with millions of followers across social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat.
On Tuesday, Javier Tebas met with Yao Jing, China's ambassador to Spain, to reaffirm the partnerships linking the two sides through agreements such as the deal with Migu and the strategic cooperation framework with the Chinese Professional Football League (CFL).
"Our commitment is to continue working together to ensure that an isolated incident does not damage the significant progress that has been achieved or affect the millions of Chinese supporters who follow our competitions," the LaLiga president said.
To put the scale of the controversy surrounding Mbappé into perspective, posts relating to the player's remarks have generated more than 430 million views on Weibo. Meanwhile, LaLiga is working to ensure that Migu, the subscription broadcaster, does not follow the example of China Central Television (CCTV), which has suspended its free-to-air coverage of LaLiga matches in response to the perceived insult from the French star.
The swift response from LaLiga and Javier Tebas was followed on Wednesday by an apology statement from Real Madrid.
The club holds 20% of Mbappé's image rights, meaning the player's comments could also damage the interests of the Spanish giants. For now, between 10% and 15% of Real Madrid's international merchandising revenue comes from China, where Mbappé's shirt is the club's top-selling item.
Had the controversy gone viral before the latest El Clásico, the biggest club fixture in world football might not have been available to viewers in China.
In Spain, Barcelona's match against Real Madrid attracted an audience of 2.759 million viewers. To appreciate the scale of the Chinese market, one need only consider that the first LaLiga match involving Wu Lei, the first Chinese player to score in Spain's top flight, was watched by 40 million viewers in China when he made his appearance for Espanyol in 2019.
That figure alone explains why both LaLiga and the player have been so eager to apologise.