FFF President defends Kylian Mbappé amid China dispute

The President of the French Football Federation (FFF) has come to the defence of Kylian Mbappé (27) amid a diplomatic dispute involving the France captain and China.

Mbappé has come under fire in China, losing several sponsorship deals and inciting strong words of criticism from the nation’s government. The state-owned channels are also pulling La Liga games involving Mbappé’s club, Real Madrid, amid the Frenchman’s plummet in popularity after remarks in which he referred to the nation’s former Chairman and founder, Mao Zedong, as a “dictator”. That comment came during an appearance on The Bridge, with the clip going viral on Monday night.

‘Mbappé didn’t want to damage the image of a Chinese leader’ – Diallo

Mbappé, Real Madrid, and La Liga have all been in damage control. The latter two have distanced themselves from the remarks, whilst the former has made an apology that is being “taken seriously”, in the words of the spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Minister.

FFF President Diallo has now leapt to the defence of the Real Madrid forward. “I have seen this controversy, which is certainly a bit too big. I don’t think that Kylian wanted, in any way, to damage the image of a Chinese leader nor offend or annoy the Chinese people,” he began in an interview with Ouest-France.

He added, “I think that, in any case, it isn’t a controversy that will last, or at least I hope that it won’t. I think that Kylian has explained very well the context in which the comment was made. He has apologised. I think we have to leave it there so that he can continue his season in the best conditions.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle