Recent reports are out that five-time Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC is named as the current most valuable football club in the world ahead of the other English and Spanish football giants Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
The Sun indicated that the Chinese government had announced that the two-time AFC Champions League winner is the "world's most valuable club" right now, saying that the team is "even richer than Western giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United".
The report cited government-run news outlet Xinhuanet, who reported that "before the Asian champion club's public transaction, the most valuable listed club was the English Premier League's Manchester United".
"(But) Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande (finished trading at) 3.35 billion dollars, (having) surpassed Real Madrid's 3.26 billion dollars and Manchester United's 2.35 billion dollars," the report continued. Real's rival, FC Barcelona, is currently valued at 3.16 billion dollars.
The news went out amidst growing fears with regards to the CSL club's "financial clout" despite the financial support of the Chinese government itself.
However, not everyone is amenable to the announcement, such as Chinese football expert Chris Atkins, who said that the news is "just ridiculous given they (Guangzhou Evergrande) don't even own their own stadium for example".
"Chinese valuations have so little substance", said Atkins.
Shanghai Daily noted that when it comes to total revenue, "Evergrande is not in the same caliber with the European top clubs". In the last three seasons, the Southern China Tigers have only earned around $62 million as compared to the Red Devils' $400 million earnings in the same time period.
Evergrande had spent an enormous $46.1 million in acquiring Colombian striker Jackson Martinez from La Liga team Atletico Madrid during the recent Chinese winter transfer window, the Asian transfer record at that time, which had sparked speculations of the club's capacity to sustain their expenses.
The Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong-based club is majority-owned by real estate and property giant Evergrande Real Estate, who has 60 percent of the team's stake, while the remaining 40 percent is held by e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group. The two companies are among the wealthiest in the country.
Chinese President Xi Jinping had called out the rich owners and supporters of the country's football clubs to make China football as one of the world's powers in the sport. Xi is envisioning China to one day host and win the World Cup.