Real Madrid's Apology Shows How Much Spanish Soccer Needs China

Real Madrid, one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world, issued a public apology on October 27 after one of its star players, Kylian Mbappe, sparked anger in China. A video clip showed a meme that compared Mbappe to Mao Zedong, the former leader of China, and Mbappe called Mao a 'Chinese dictator.' The comment caused a major backlash in China, where Mao is still respected by many people. The controversy put millions of dollars in business deals — and the future of Spanish soccer in China — in serious danger.

Real Madrid was not the only one to say sorry. Spain's top soccer league, La Liga, and its president, Javier Tebas, also apologized, and so did Mbappe himself. However, these apologies did not calm things down right away. Chinese state TV suspended broadcasts of La Liga games, and three companies dropped their sponsorship deals with Mbappe. The situation showed just how important China is to Spanish soccer's business plans.

La Liga earns a huge amount of money from selling the rights to broadcast its games around the world. A source inside La Liga told the news agency AFP that China and the United States together pay for the 'majority' of those international broadcasting rights, which were worth about 748 million euros — roughly one billion Singapore dollars — for the 2024–25 season alone. La Liga games shown on China's state-run TV channel, CCTV, are some of the most-watched sports events in the entire country. That means losing Chinese viewers is a very big deal for the league.

La Liga has been working hard to grow its audience in China for many years. Since 2016, the league changed its game schedules to fit Asian time zones so that Chinese fans could watch matches live. In August 2025, La Liga also signed a new deal with Migu, a major Chinese digital company, to broadcast 380 games per season all the way until 2030. The league said the deal showed its 'long-term commitment to developing its fan base in China.'

Real Madrid and Barcelona, the two biggest clubs in Spanish soccer, each have deep financial ties to China. According to the sports newspaper Marca, Real Madrid earns between 10% and 15% of all its jersey and merchandise sales from Chinese fans. The club also has several Chinese companies as main sponsors, including electronics maker Hisense, a sports betting company called Kaiyun Sports, and tire manufacturer Linglong Tire. Real Madrid's president, Florentino Perez, also runs business subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong through his large construction company.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have played pre-season friendly games in Asia in recent years as part of a development agreement with Chinese sports groups. Barcelona has opened several soccer academies in China to teach young players the game. The club even stated in a Chinese New Year message that it has more fans in Asia 'than in Europe and America combined.' All of this makes clear that for Spanish soccer, keeping China happy is not just about sports — it is about protecting a massive and growing business.