China Set to Become Football Superpower

Remi Ladigbolu with Sportsmail
Even if we ignore the unconfirmed rumour of an unnamed Chinese club that is offering Real Madrid a record-breaking £250 million for the signature of the current world best footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, current developments leave no one in doubt where the Chinese football league is headed.

Recent reports have indicated that Chinese President Xi Jinping has a golden vision for football in his country. His plan is to turn China into a football superpower capable of hosting and winning the World Cup.

And the Chinese have shown clearly they are very serious about their intentions.

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is the latest football superstar to be linked with the Chinese Super League at the age of 28. He has, so far, delayed renewing his contract, which will expire next season, with English Football Club, Arsenal.

Only last week, Carlos Tevez waved farewell to his beloved Boca Juniors and headed for the Far East to play for Shanghai Shenhua, in a deal that has made him the world’s highest paid footballer.

Tevez reportedly agreed a deal worth £615,000-a-week, elevating him above Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on the football money list.

Just before then, Chelsea agreed a deal worth £58million with China’s Shanghai SIPG for their ace Brazilian midfielder, Oscar. The player will earn £400,000-a-week at his new Chinese club.

Such is the rapid flow towards the ridiculously rich Chinese Super League these days.

Sportsmail revealed, last month, that Zlatan Ibrahimovic turned down an offer from China of more than £1 million-a-week in favour of spending another year at Manchester United, no doubt aware that he will still be able to command equally jaw-dropping sums when he eventually leaves Old Trafford.

His United teammate, Wayne Rooney, was offered £75 million over three years by Shanghai SIPG, while Manchester City’s Yaya Toure turned down £577,000-a-week from Jiangsu Suning to stay in the Premier League for a little longer.

Players in their prime are now flocking to China, lured by the astronomical figures on offer, rather than pursuing their football aspirations at a significantly higher level in Europe or South America.

Oscar is 25 and in the prime of his life. Fellow Brazilian Alex Teixeira was 26 when he turned his back on the chance to join Liverpool at the start of last season and instead signed for a Chinese club, Jiangsu Suning.

So too Paulinho when he left Tottenham for Guangzhou Evergrande last year.

What is no longer in doubt is that China has very quickly become a viable option for footballers who would never previously have considered playing in the Far East. So how – and why – has the world’s most populous country caught up so fast?

The answer is in Jinping’s vision for football in his country. That is the driving force behind the Super League revolution.

According to reports, President Jinping has set out a 10-year plan, running from 2015 to 2025, to double the size of the Chinese sports economy to more than £600 billion, based on state and private investment in football.

He wants to produce 100,000 players by ploughing money into grassroots football and creating 20,000 new ‘football schools’ and 70,000 pitches by 2020.

The huge offers being made to European and South American stars are possible because Chinese Super League teams have been bankrolled by massive corporate investment.

Shanghai SIPG, Shanghai Shenhua, Jiangsu Suning and Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao – champions for the last six years – have been the biggest spenders willing to pay over the market value to sign big-name stars.

China has also tried to raise its football profile abroad.

President Jinping was, reportedly, given a guided tour of Manchester City’s new academy, two years ago, shortly before China Media Capital announced a state-backed £265 million investment in Sheikh Mansour’s company.

Reports indicate that other Premier League clubs, such as West Brom and Aston Villa, have also received Chinese backing.

China’s 16-team top-flight league has indeed come a long way since Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba spent a season at Shanghai Shenhua in 2012-13 and swiftly left amid reports of unpaid wages and widespread corruption in the sport.

But the world was forced to sit up and take notice at the start of last year after the Chinese transfer record was broken three times in the space of 10 days, when Jiangsu Suning paid Shakhtar Donetsk £38.4 million for Teixeira, having signed Ramires from Chelsea for £25 million and seen Guangzhou Evergrande up the ante with a £31 million deal for Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid.

Also, attendances for the Chinese Super League are, reportedly, growing steadily and it is expected to enjoy a greater profile over the next five years on the back of a new £935 million TV deal with China Media Capital.

Right now, Oscar and Tevez will not be alone in their respective clubs when the 14th Chinese Super League season kicks off next month. They will be joining a growing number of ex-Premier League stars in the Far East.

Former Chelsea players Ramires and Demba Ba play for Jiangsu Suning and Shanghai Shenhua respectively. Graziano Pelle joined Shandong Luneng from Southampton in the summer, former Arsenal winger Gervinho is at Hebei China Fortune, and Paulinho still plays for Guangzhou Evergrande.

Also, Wilfried Bony’s representatives are understood to be in talks over a move to China following the Ivory Coast striker’s disappointing spell at Stoke on loan from Manchester City.

Another former Chelsea player, Branislav Ivanovic, has been linked with the Chinese Super League along with Cheick Tiote who is out of favour and almost out of contract at Newcastle.

Mario Balotelli is also said to have several offers on the table from Chinese clubs. Nigeria’s own Obafemi Martins also plays for Shanghai Shenhua.

But, it’s not just the players who are heading to the Far East. Oscar will be working under former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas at Shanghai SIPG.

Last month, the Portuguese coach replaced Sven Goran Eriksson, who has since taken over at second-tier club Shenzhen FC.

Manuel Pellegrini joined Hebei China Fortune after leaving Manchester City and ex-Sunderland boss Gus Poyet has recently been appointed coach of Shanghai Shenhua.

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