Mourinho: On the Mbappe and China situation, Real did everything necessary

Mourinho considers the matter closed

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho said on Saturday that the club has completed its part in the scandal surrounding Kylian Mbappe's remarks about a meme in which his face was superimposed on an image of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. According to Mourinho, both the player and the club 'had class' in quickly offering an apology, and now there is nothing more to do: 'as far as we are concerned, we have done our part,' AFP reports.

The essence of the conflict and China's reaction

The trigger was remarks by the 27-year-old forward in an interview with the French programme 'The Bridge' (the clip was later deleted): he said he was amused by an internet meme in which his face was placed on 'some guy, apparently a Chinese dictator' — a clear reference to Mao. The comment caused an uproar in China, where mocking Mao is taboo. Mbappe himself, Real Madrid and La Liga all issued apologies, however, as AFP notes, Chinese state television nevertheless removed Spanish football broadcasts from its schedule. Mourinho commented on this as follows: 'These are the dangers of today's world, where often the best thing you can do is keep your mouth shut.'

The Ballon d'Or and Bellingham

At the same press conference, Mourinho also touched on another topic of the week: Mbappe finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting, behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane. The Portuguese spoke highly of his player's reaction — 'class and respect' — while also admitting he was happy for Kane, whom he coached at Tottenham from 2019 to 2021. Separately, he was surprised that Jude Bellingham finished only 11th in the voting: according to the coach, this left him 'open-mouthed' — he believed the Englishman should have placed significantly higher.