The landscape of football has changed over the recent years with foreign clubs being bought by rich billionaires. These moguls then invest an unbelievable amount of money in order to entice the biggest names in the sport to play for their newly owned club. Perhaps no other country is more responsible for this phenomenon than China.
There were not really many big name players in Chinese football, say, 10 years ago. However, now the clubs over in China have the capability to bring over big names such as Hulk, Alex Teixeira, and even Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Not a lot of football fans agree with how Chinese clubs bring these players to their shores though, as they believe that the players are only getting lured there by way of mouth-watering wages. It is not only fans that feel this particular way about Chinese football clubs, as Chelsea FC boss Antonio Conte has revealed that he fears the spending power of Chinese clubs, according to the Guardian.
A prime example of this overspending is how Shanghai SIPG has managed to sign Brazilian superstar Oscar in a deal believed to be worth around $63 million. Another club from Shanghai - Shanghai Greenland Shenhua - then signed Carlos Tevez of Argentina and Juventus fame with his wages reaching up to $20 million every single season he plays in China. Both of these signings were made just a few days away from each other.
It seems now that the cries of football fans from all over the world have been heard. China's top sports administrator is now seriously considering putting a salary cap on Chinese football clubs to avoid them poaching top talent by paying them extravagant wages, according to the Financial Times. The General Administration of Sport of China have accused certain clubs in their country of overspending after breaking record after record when it came to transfer fees and player's wages.
One of the proposed solutions aside from placing a salary cap on clubs is limiting the number of foreign players that a Chinese football club can have at the same time. However, it seems like the Chinese governments ambitions to become a global superpower in football will not stop this kind of spending any time in the near future.
Watch a video on why the Chinese Super League is experiencing such massive growth here: