David Beckham visits the locker room of Hangzhou Greentown who play in the Chinese Super League. (Photo : Getty Images/VCG)
Chinese fans are definitely happy that their local clubs are spending massive amounts of money to bring the world's best players to their shores. However, there are also some people who are not happy that they are seemingly buying out promising talent without letting them fulfill their potential on an arguably grander stage.
One such man who is against the exorbitant spending of the Chinese Super League is Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness. Hoeness himself is no stranger to large transfer fees - with Bayern Munich spending large amounts on the transfer fees and wages of players such as Mario Gotze and Mats Hummels. In spite of this, Hoeness has still described the spending of the Chinese Super League as "sick."
This bold statement comes a day after Chinese club Shanghai SIPG offered an absolutely whopping €150 million ($158 million) for the services of one Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Keep in mind that the Shanghai SIPG has already splashed the cash after completing the transfer of Chelsea and Brazil playmaker Oscar.
"It's sick. It's nothing but sick," Hoeness told Sky Sports News Deutschland in an interview. "I only hope that it's just a phase like we had in America at one stage," he added.
The Bayern Munich president likened the Chinese Super League's current obsession with making big money signings to the 1970s era of football in the United States in which clubs splashed the cash to sign legends like Pele and Johann Cruyff.
The clubs in the Chinese Super League believe that making these signings will add credibility to their league and in the long run make them a superpower in football, Guardian reported. However, it seems that the real winner when Chinese clubs make these types of transfers are the players as well as their agents. Multiple players who make their way to China to ply their trade often find themselves as the highest paid player in the world at one point in time.
One of the first head turning transfers to occur in the Chinese Super League is that of Argentinian forward Dario Conca for a then record £7 million ($8.52 million). Now that transfer fee is only a small percentage of the £32 million ($39 million) in wages fellow Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez will take home in a single season.
Watch some of the best goals in the Chinese Super League below:
