EI chinese football It's in bankruptcy. What a few years ago were opulence and inordinate transfer spending have turned into bankruptcies and club disappearances. The last one, without going any further, is the reigning champion, Jiangsu Suning. On Sunday the company that supports it reported the cessation of the activity of the soccer team.
It has not served him to win the last title. The accumulated debts of recent years have ended with a team that went from being a modest in the second division to being proclaimed champion of China. Much of the fault is the 50 million paid by Álex Teixeira a few seasons ago or the 28 paid by Ramires. Even in 2019 there was talk of an interest in hiring Gareth Bale, no more, no less. Quite a utopia.
Exodus of stars and technicians
The Jiangsu thing is the last link in a chain that has long been rusted. The Chinese soccer bubble burst and COVID has accelerated that deflation. In three seasons, in fact, 16 clubs have disappeared. Four years ago China came to pay 380 million in transfers; in the current market it takes just 7.5. The most expensive foreign reinforcement is the unknown Croatian Majstorovic, which cost just 3.3 million. Nothing to do with the 60 that were paid in his day by Oscar or the 55 by Hulk.
The Government sensed that this could happen and wanted to stop spending on the most expensive signings. The measure consists of paying the same amount to the Chinese federation as that corresponding to the international transfer. Thus, if a club wants to pay 10 million for a player, it must pay another 10 to the federation.
In addition, since this season a salary limit of 3 million euros has been activated. In this way, almost all the great stars have had to come out: Teixeira, Hulk, Pellé, Ighalo, El Shaarawy, Rondón, Goulart … There has also been a massive exodus of technicians. They will not continue in their clubs Rafa Benítez, Vitor Pereira, Bruno Genesio or Van Bronckhorst. A championship completely devastated, without money, orphan of stars and of the current champion. The Chinese dream was unreal.