The creator of the Mao Zedong x Kylian Mbappé meme has told Le Parisien that he “feels sorry” for the France captain, whose comments on said meme have landed him in political turmoil.

Appearing on The Bridge, Mbappé referred to Mao Zedong, China’s former chairman, as a “dictator”. He has faced significant backlash in China for the comment. Energy drink company Dongpeng and dairy producer Meigniu both announced the termination of their sponsorship deals with Mbappé, stating that his “behaviour offends national sentiment”.

Real Madrid and La Liga may also face financial repercussions. Reports in China have stated that games featuring Mbappé will not be broadcast in the country. That is despite apologies being made by Mbappé, La Liga, and Real Madrid. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Affairs Minister said that Mbappé’s apology was being “taken seriously”.

Younes Khelifi, who runs the X account Frenchaicovers, is the creator of the original meme. He has now spoken to Le Parisien: “I had seen the video on Monday evening and I was so happy that Mbappé said that it was his favourite [meme]. It made me happy, but I didn’t think that it would cross borders and create a diplomatic incident. It’s completely insane.

“At the time, during the summer of 2023, Mbappé was the centre of attention for renewing his contract at PSG. It was said that there was distrust towards him in the dressing room, and that he was holding the club hostage a bit. I watch a bit of football and I am a developer. I was interested in deepfakes and AI for making humorous videos, so these two things came together and I made this video

“I didn’t want to offend the whole public […] I feel sorry for Mbappé. The fact that he has to go through so much because of a blunder, that he loses sponsors and potential fans, too, is sad. He is taking too much relative to the seriousness of the topic,” said Khelifi.