That’s why superstars flee China

A lot of people probably wondered what was really going on that summer of 2016, when player after player who would normally attract a lot of interest from major European clubs, suddenly decided to continue their career in China.

During the transfer window that followed, Hulk, Ramires, Oscar, Javier Mascherano, Paulinho, Yannick Carrasco, Alexandre Pato, Axel Witsel, and coaches such as Fabio Cannavaro and Luiz Felipe Scolari, went to China. Transfer record after transfer record was broken and players were offered abnormal salary sums.

Carlos Tevez, then 34, was making nearly $ 7 million a week when he was recruited to Shanghai Shenhua and when he returned to Boca Juniors seven months later, he did not complain that he saw his stay in the East as a very profitable party. .

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Despite nearly 1.4 billion people, China’s soccer success is easy to tell, but plans and ambitions to make China a world power in soccer have long existed. As early as 2011, before President Xi Jingpin formally assumed power as China’s supreme leader, he had charted the soccer path his country would take.

Xi Jingping scored three goals; China would host a World Cup, qualify for a World Cup and win a World Cup.

The lofty goals would be achieved through a successful national league, and the easiest way to achieve success quickly was by adding sparkle to the stars. Conglomerates and large corporations were invited to invest in soccer in exchange for political favors, and suddenly the money flowed as state-of-the-art facilities were built and star players were drawn in by thick salary envelopes. Assets and the will to spend seemed insatiable.

But the bubble would burst.

Nearly a year ago, Tianjin Tianhai was declared bankrupt and forced to go to the grave. In late February, Jiangsu FC, which had just won the first months of the club’s league title, announced that the club would cease to exist with immediate effect. Owner Suning, who also owns Serie A leader Inter, withdrew all investments in domestic soccer.

Players flee China

When the pandemic struck, Chinese companies were forced to cut the cost of secondary activities like soccer and, without audience revenue, the clubs had nothing to turn to.

Last year, 16 clubs from China’s three main divisions were forced to close and more are expected to follow. Without the money, the players have also started to flee, although there are still names like Oscar, Paulinho, Marko Arnautovic and Marouane Fellaini.

Among other things, Marek Hamsik decided to break his contract with Dalian Professional and instead sign a short-term contract with IFK Gothenburg.

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However, China has no plans to give up the football project, even though the strategy needs to be calibrated. The original investment simply did not yield the desired result: At the time of writing, China is ranked 75th in the world rankings, just ahead of countries like Curaçao, Panama and Oman, and even before the pandemic came to a standstill. football, clubs had started. rethink and reduce costs.

Instead of leaving most of the money in the hands of foreign players, as before, China will now use the state-of-the-art facilities built to fully focus on grassroots football.

The millions of endorsements have dropped and companies in club names have recently been banned in an attempt to make clubs more self-sufficient. Before the 2021 season, a salary cap has also been introduced. Foreign players can now earn a maximum of 30 million a year, which Tevez earned for a month during his stay in China.

What will happen next remains to be seen, but when club after club collapsed, the headlines about the Chinese soccer crisis are justified.

However, this does not mean that China’s quest to become a world soccer power is over; however, the path will be very different from what it has done in recent years.