Players of Guangzhou Evergrande use their shirts to protect the ball kids from heavy rain during a match at Tianhe Sports Center in Guangzhou, China, on May 5, 2015. (Photo : Getty Images)
The chief executive and two other top officials of China’s most successful soccer club, Asian champion Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao, have resigned, the club announced on Monday.
Chairman Ke Peng, deputy general manager Mai Jianle and board member Zhang Hongping have submitted their resignations due to personal reasons, the club said in its announcement.
Citing an anonymous source, the Shenzhen Daily said the reshuffling will not affect the operation of the club.
"The club runs normally as usual," the source said, adding that current board member Liu Yongzhou would take over Ke's role.
Liu previously served as chairman of Guangzhou Evergrande from 2010-2014.
Zhang Yong, chief operating officer of Alibaba Group, took over the reins as president after the e-commerce giant acquired a sizable stake in the club in 2014.
Ke, who was formerly director for branding for the club's parent Evergrande Group, became the club's president in 2015.
"Liu may take charge of the club again, and Ke could help the club in advertisement and media relations," said the source.
Evergrande, managed on the pitch by former Brazil manager and World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, won its fifth consecutive domestic title in October and bagged its second AFC Champions League in three years the following month. Scolari is reported to be in the running for the head of China's national soccer team.
Real estate giant Evergrande Group currently holds a 56.71 stake in the club, while Alibaba owns 37.81 percent. The remaining shares are distributed across several investors following a share sale through a Chinese over-the-counter market in January.
The AFC champion raised $132 million from new investors under the deal valued at $2.4 billion.
