{"id":5066,"date":"2026-10-31T15:16:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/31\/our-part-of-mbappe-china-issue-over-real-madrids-mourinho\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T15:16:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:16:22","slug":"our-part-of-mbappe-china-issue-over-real-madrids-mourinho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/31\/our-part-of-mbappe-china-issue-over-real-madrids-mourinho\/","title":{"rendered":"Our part of Mbappe, China issue over \u2013 Real Madrid\u2019s Mourinho"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Our<\/p>\n

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said Saturday the club\u2019s involvement in the controversy over Kylian Mbappe\u2019s comments about an internet meme about himself and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong was over, after both the player and club apologised.<\/p>\n

Mbappe\u2019s remarks sparked a backlash in China, with Real Madrid, the France forward and La Liga all issuing apologies, but Chinese state television nevertheless pulled Spanish football from its schedules.<\/p>\n

In a clip from an interview with French show \u201cThe Bridge\u201d which has since been taken down, Mbappe had said he was amused by an internet meme showing his face photoshopped onto \u201csome guy, think he\u2019s a Chinese dictator\u201d, an apparent reference to Mao.<\/p>\n

Mourinho said both Mbappe and 15-time European champions Real Madrid \u201chad the class\u201d to issue swift apologies and believes there is nothing more for them to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of responsibility from a club which, at this level, is a club of great class, and as far as we\u2019re concerned, that\u2019s it, we\u2019ve done our part, there\u2019s nothing more for us to do,\u201d Mourinho told reporters.<\/p>\n

Mocking former leader Mao \u2014 blamed by historians for millions of deaths \u2014 is taboo in China, and the 27-year-old\u2019s remarks saw him become the latest foreign sports figure to anger Beijing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this situation involving China, these are the dangers of today\u2019s world, where many times the best thing you can do is keep your mouth shut, because there\u2019s danger in so many things you say or comment on,\u201d said Mourinho.<\/p>\n

Mbappe has endured a difficult week, after he finished second behind Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane in Monday\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or ceremony.<\/p>\n

Mourinho praised Mbappe\u2019s reaction after England international Kane was named the world\u2019s best player.<\/p>\n

\u201cKylian is very intelligent, very mature, with a very high level of self-esteem,\u201d said Mourinho.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, he shows real class in the way he\u2019s interpreted the Ballon d\u2019Or going to Harry. In him I\u2019ve only seen and felt class and respect.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing is knowing you\u2019re the best, and another is having respect for those who have also done a lot to win a trophy. From him I only see class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mourinho said midfielder Jude Bellingham coming in 11th in the voting left him with his \u201cmouth open\u201d, implying the Englishman should have finished far higher.<\/p>\n

However, the veteran Portuguese coach, who worked with Kane at Tottenham between 2019 and 2021, said he was happy for the Bayern hitman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the privilege of working with Harry, he\u2019s a great player and a great professional and a great person,\u201d added Mourinho.<\/p>\n

\u201cInside the frustration that my player (Mbappe) didn\u2019t win, well, I have to be honest and say I\u2019m very happy for Harry, a player and a boy who deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The post Our part of Mbappe, China issue over \u2013 Real Madrid\u2019s Mourinho<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Vanguard News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said Saturday the club\u2019s involvement in the controversy over Kylian Mbappe\u2019s comments about an internet meme about himself and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong was… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}