Soccer is one of my favorite sports, and by far the world’s most popular, so I thought that it might be interesting to look into the world of soccer in China. The top division of Chinese soccer is called the Chinese Super League, and their league has been gaining quite a bit of popularity over the past several years because they have been known to spend a ton of money in transfer fees and wages to get superstars of the European game to come play in China when they are arguably either past their prime, or simply a snake wanting a huge pay day. Now, that’s great for the Chinese game that they get to grab some big name players to play in their league. The MLS does the same thing with players like Landon Donovan, David Beckham, and Thierry Henry. The problem in China however, is that the big wages their clubs promise those big name players, are driving some clubs out of business. This article from the South China Morning Post details the financial struggles of Liaoning, a former top Chinese club who is now in the second division and facing bankruptcy. The team has in fact not been able to pay quite a few of their players because of the money they have spent on big name players and the under performance of their club. So now, with the Covid-19 pandemic, everything with the details of the club is far more confusing. Players do not know whether the club is going under or not, so they do not know whether they can speak to new clubs or not. FIFA and the Chinese FA have gotten involved with the club, trying to help their players get paid, and considering whether the club will be able to stay afloat or not.
Categories