From Mbappé to Chicharito: 8 athletes who lost million-dollar sponsorships or were fired over one bad comment
A hot mic or an ill-advised post can tear down in minutes what took years to build on the pitch.
In today's sports industry, a hot mic or an ill-advised post can tear down in minutes what took years to build on the pitch. The latest example is Kylian Mbappé, who set off a commercial and diplomatic earthquake after admitting on a French show that his favorite meme from the last World Cup was one that put his face on the body of a "Chinese dictator," a reference to Mao Zedong. The joke cost him the immediate cancellation of his deals with Chinese giants Dongpeng and Mengniu, put his new Swiss brand, On, under scrutiny over its exposure to the Chinese market, and even reached broadcasts of Spanish football on that country's state television.
The Mbappé case revived memories of what happened in 2019 with Mesut Özil, when his social media criticism of the treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang led Arsenal to publicly distance itself from him, China to pull the London club's broadcasts, and the German midfielder to be frozen out until he left the team.
Fired by their own clubs
Other remarks didn't just scare off brands — they blew up the working relationship between players and their own clubs. In November 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo gave an explosive, unauthorized interview in which he said he had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag and sharply criticized Manchester United's leadership, leading to the immediate termination of his contract in the middle of the World Cup in Qatar.
Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi met an equally swift ending with Bundesliga side Mainz 05 in 2023: after posting political messages about the conflict in the Middle East and publicly contradicting on social media the retraction statement issued by his own club, the German club's leadership fired him immediately.
From Mexican football to boxing
Mexican football and boxing have also learned how much image clauses weigh against controversial social stances. In 2025, Javier "Chicharito" Hernández posted a series of Instagram videos with comments described as chauvinistic and sexist about gender roles, prompting a sanction from the Mexican Football Federation, a public rebuke from Chivas and a split with his main sponsor, Puma, a company that was even covering part of his salary in Guadalajara.
Years earlier, in 2016, Filipino multi-division champion Manny Pacquiao took a similar hit when he said in a TV interview that same-sex couples were "worse than animals," a remark Nike called unacceptable before cutting ties and canceling his global deal outright.
Zero tolerance in the NBA
In the NBA, zero tolerance for hate speech on digital platforms has set equally costly precedents. In late 2022, Kyrie Irving promoted a documentary with antisemitic messages on his social media and initially refused to apologize, leading the Brooklyn Nets to suspend him without pay and Nike to permanently end an 11-year partnership, canceling the launch of his Kyrie 8 sneakers.
Shortly before that, in 2021, center Meyers Leonard used an antisemitic slur during a live Call of Duty stream on Twitch, a mistake that within hours cost him all of his gaming sponsors, got him banned from the platform and led to his permanent exit from the Miami Heat.
Sources: France 24 · Excélsior · Defector
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