October 29, 2026
The Chinese broadcast crisis threatens La Liga with 400 million euros… and Mbappe loses huge sponsorship contracts
The Spanish Football League is facing a severe crisis in the Chinese market, following the suspension of the China Media Group (CMG) from broadcasting La Liga matches, and the Migu platform affiliated with China Mobile – the two companies that own the audiovisual broadcast rights – deleting one of the most prominent matches of the next round, amid fears of serious financial and marketing repercussions extending until 2030.
According to the data, the China Media Group has stopped broadcasting the matches on its platforms, while the “Migo” platform has so far been content to delete the Racing and Real Madrid match scheduled for next Sunday from its programming schedule, while temporarily keeping the other nine matches of the round. The official Chinese television network (CCTV) was planning to broadcast two matches for free in each round through its channels and the “Yangshipin” platform, while “Migo” will present the 380 matches of the season through a mixture of free and paid content.
The value of broadcast contracts until 2030 is estimated at approximately 400 million euros (equivalent to approximately 100 million euros per season, without official disclosure of the distribution of revenues or terms of termination). This crisis threatens broadcast revenues and advertising value, as well as reducing the public spread of the competition in the Chinese market.
In efforts to contain the situation, the president of the Spanish League, Javier Tebas, held a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing, amid speculation that Tebas will travel to China soon. Although the current suspension does not necessarily mean the cessation of contractual payments, the continuation of the crisis threatens future negotiations, especially since the apologies of LaLiga, Tebas, Kylian Mbappe, and Real Madrid have not yet succeeded in putting things back on track.
On the individual level, the commercial repercussions directly affected French star Kylian Mbappe, after three Chinese companies terminated their advertising agreements with him. The roots of this crisis go back to statements attributed to the player about a satirical image in which he appeared with the face of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, which was considered in China an insult to a pivotal historical figure and the feelings of the Chinese people.
Although the official value of the canceled contracts has not been announced, the French newspaper Le Monde estimates the value of Mbappe’s commercial agreements in China at about 6.7 million euros. The losses also extended to his digital presence, following the imposition of restrictions on his accounts on the “Weibo” and “Xiaohongshu” platforms, in addition to the “On” company deleting player-specific content from its Chinese accounts.
