English soccer club Chelsea apologized on Sunday after Instagram posts by Brazilian player Kenedy "caused great offense and hurt the feelings" of the Chinese people.

The 21-year-old winger sparked outrage among netizens over the weekend when he posted images on social media that appeared to use bad language against China and mock a Chinese security guard.

Kenedy quickly deleted the posts, but "the damage had already been done", the English Premier League club said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it "solemnly and sincerely apologizes".