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Chinese football finances in spotlight as champions unravel
SHANGHAI, Feb 24, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – China’s Super League champions who nearly
signed Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale are in disarray and fighting for
their future, just three months after winning the domestic title for the
first time.
Jiangsu FC, whose backers also own Italian giants and Serie A leaders
Inter Milan, are unravelling amid widespread reports of financial problems
and their depleted squad has not been told when pre-season training will
resume.
The predicament of Jiangsu — previously known as Jiangsu Suning — has
underlined the erratic nature of Chinese football and put its precarious
finances back in the spotlight.
China’s Soccer News outlet says that it is now a “question of how to
survive” for Jiangsu, who are owned by the conglomerate Suning and have seen
their title-winning coach and 50-million-euro attacker Alex Teixeira leave
since making club history.
In November, the Brazilian played a starring role as Cosmin Olaroiu’s side
surprised Fabio Cannavaro’s reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande over two
legs in the final of the coronavirus-revamped CSL.
But trouble has been brewing at Jiangsu, based in the eastern city of
Nanjing, for a while.
In the summer of 2019 the club came close to signing Bale on a reported o1
million ($1.4 million) a week before the Spaniards pulled the plug on the
move. He now plays for Premier League Tottenham Hotspur on loan.
Yet there were reports last season that the Jiangsu players briefly
refused to train because they had not been paid.
“We faced problems against the opponent and we faced the problems in the
interior in our club and this made me a little bit disappointed after the
final, even though we won,” Olaroiu told The Asian Game podcast after
Jiangsu’s title triumph.
The 51-year-old Romanian quit earlier this month, reports in China and
Romania say. The club have made no comment. Croatian striker Ivan Santini
then followed through the exit door.
“Within three days the team lost the coach who led the team to last
season’s championship and an important forward,” Chinese newspaper Oriental
Sports Daily said this week.
Teixeira has also played his last game for Jiangsu after his contract
expired and his fellow Brazilian Miranda, the veteran defensive stalwart, is
attempting to secure a return to his homeland.
“The team losing more players cannot be ruled out,” Oriental Sports Daily
said, with several Chinese players linked with moves away.
“In the upcoming season what will the Jiangsu team look like?” asked the
respected publication. “At present, nobody has a definitive answer.
“The team has lost its head coach and several foreign players are not
there.
“No one knows the team’s plan for the new season and all the players can
do now is wait.” – ‘Survival first priority’ –
Chinese football is tightening its belt and the days of teams splashing
out on the likes of Teixeira and Shanghai SIPG’s 60-million-euro Oscar are
over.
At least two other CSL teams are in serious financial peril and Olaroiu
talked of problems behind the scenes at Jiangsu, who were formerly managed by
ex-England coach Fabio Capello and signed Brazilian international Ramires
from Chelsea for 28 million euros in 2016. Ramires left in 2019.
The club is still owned by retail giant Suning even though it dropped
“Suning” from its name at the start of this month in line with Chinese
Football Association requirements.
Suning in December hit out at “rumours” over its financial state and
threatened legal action.
But Guangzhou-based Soccer News said that for the company its “survival is
the first priority” and reports Suning are looking to offload the club.
Zhang Jindong, chairman of Suning, gave a speech last week that hinted at
a pivot away from sport and was interpreted by many as bad news for Jiangsu
FC and its fans.
“We will focus on retail business resolutely and without hesitation will
close and cut down our business irrelevant to retail,” he said in comments
which also did not go unnoticed in Italy, where Inter are battling rivals AC
Milan for the Scudetto.
The new CSL season is expected to begin in the spring, but there is no
definite start date because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1034 hrs