Chinese AI DeepSeek Calls Mbappé Mao Claim "Fake News

Thibaut Courtois still disappointed for Kylian Mbappé.

The Belgian goalkeeper spoke to Canal+ after Real Madrid's 3-2 win over AEK Athens on Wednesday.

He was asked whether Mbappé had moved on from finishing second in the 2026 Ballon d'Or.

Courtois said the France captain has already turned his attention to the next challenge.

But the Real Madrid shot-stopper made clear he is not satisfied with the voting process itself.

"Has Kylian got over it? Yes, it's the people who vote, and sometimes it's hard to understand some of the votes," Courtois told Canal+.

"Some journalists don't put him in the TOP 10, nor Lamine Yamal, nor Kane… I don't understand the way some journalists vote, but well, that's how it always is."

Courtois was referencing the individual ballots cast by journalists from each of the 100 FIFA member associations.

Each journalist selects a top ten, with points awarded on a sliding scale: 15 for first place, down to one for tenth.

If a player is left off a ballot entirely, they receive zero points from that voter.

Courtois singled out the fact that some voters omitted not only Mbappé but also Lamine Yamal and Harry Kane.

Yamal, the 19-year-old Barcelona winger, finished fourth in the final ranking.

Kane, Bayern Munich's center forward, placed sixth.

Courtois did not name the journalists or the countries they represented.

But his frustration points to a broader question about how the Ballon d'Or voting works.

The award is organized by France Football magazine and co-sponsored by UEFA since 2024.

Voters are selected by the publication from each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA World Ranking.

There is no standardized criteria for how journalists should rank players.

Some prioritize individual statistics, others weigh team trophies, and some factor in international tournament performance.

Mbappé scored 44 goals across all competitions in the 2025-26 season for Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

He also captained France to the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they lost to Brazil on penalties.

The winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or was not named by Courtois in his interview.

But the result has been public since the ceremony in Paris on October 28, 2026.

Mbappé finished second, the third time he has been runner-up in his career.

Courtois said Mbappé is already focused on winning the award next year.

"He's trying to win next year's Ballon d'Or; he's started scoring, and we'll try to win the Champions League or La Liga," the goalkeeper said.

Real Madrid currently sit second in La Liga, four points behind Barcelona after 12 matchdays.

In the Champions League, Madrid have won four of their five group-stage matches and are on track for the knockout rounds.

Mbappé has scored 12 goals in 16 appearances for Real Madrid since his summer transfer from PSG.

Courtois' comments come at a moment when Mbappé is also dealing with a separate controversy off the pitch.

On October 28, the same day as the Ballon d'Or ceremony, a clip from the French talk show "The Bridge" went viral.

In it, Mbappé was asked about his favorite meme of himself.

He described an image where his face was pasted onto "some guy, I think he's a Chinese dictator."

The specific image used was of Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People's Republic of China.

Within 24 hours, three Chinese sponsors — Dongpeng, Mengniu, and Milkground — cut ties with the French captain.

State broadcaster CCTV, through its parent China Media Group, suspended all transmissions of La Liga matches and advertising featuring Mbappé.

CCTV said apologies from La Liga, Real Madrid and the player himself were an "absolute prerequisite" for the suspension to be lifted.

Mbappé issued a public apology in three languages.

"My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world," he said in the statement published by Time.

He added that he had "deep respect for the Chinese people and their history."

Beijing accepted the gesture, up to a point.

Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters: "We take seriously the protection of the dignity of our leaders."

The controversy also drew attention from Chinese AI chatbots.

The France 24 Observers team tested two of China's biggest AI tools from a Chinese IP address.

Doubao, ByteDance's chatbot, returned a line about rule violations: "This content is suspected of violating the rules for using Doubao."

DeepSeek, from the same address, dismissed the story out of hand, saying no trustworthy information existed and calling the allegations "fake news."

From a French IP address, the same tools were more forthcoming.