Diplomatic crisis surrounding a superstar. La Liga chief apologizes to China

La Liga president Javier Tebas has issued an official apology to the people of China following controversial media posts by Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé concerning Mao Zedong.

Details: The head of Spain's top flight expressed deep regret over the public backlash, stressing the league's desire to maintain respectful relations with Asian fans.

“We deeply regret Kylian Mbappé's statements, which caused discontent and offence in China. We acknowledge the harm caused and, on behalf of La Liga, I would like to offer our sincere apologies to the Chinese people,” the official's statement read.

Tebas stressed that the thoughtless actions of an individual footballer must not jeopardize the well-being of the entire Spanish professional league.

“We cannot allow one person's actions to damage these relations or negatively affect more than twenty clubs participating in our professional competitions and millions of Chinese fans. We are taking the measures available to us and working directly with our partners in China to overcome this situation,” the league chief concluded.

It is worth noting that La Liga's emergency diplomatic intervention was prompted by a fierce reaction from Chinese businesses, which began boycotting the French forward and terminating his personal sponsorship deals. The Chinese market remains one of the most important strategic areas for Spanish football, generating tens of millions of euros in revenue from media rights sales and global partnerships.

Reminder: Scandal in the Asian market: Chinese giants terminate contracts with Mbappé