Chiyna!

[thinktank]

Buying all the football. Wtf's going on??

Chinese Super League transfer window: All you need to know

With the transfer window in the Chinese Super League still open for business even more big-money moves could take place - but how much time is left and which players could be lured to the Far East?

The winter window may have shut in the Premier League and across the rest of Europe on earlier this month, but that has not stopped clubs in the CSL from continuing to splash the cash.

So how much have teams in China spent so far in the transfer window and who still has room left on their rosters to accommodate foreign signings?

We answer those questions and more…

When does the transfer window close in China?

Friday February 26, ahead of the start of the new CSL season on March 4.

Who has made the move to the CSL?

A number of high-profile players have already decided to make the switch to China, with the biggest outlay so far being the £38m that Jiangsu Suning spent to sign Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira on February 5.

The Brazilian's big-money move to the Far East broke the CSL transfer record for the third time in the space of just 10 days after Jackson Martinez and Ramires had joined Guangzhou Evergrande and Jiangsu Suning for £31.5m and £21m respectively.

Other transfers to have caught the eye this window include former Arsenal forward Gervinho's £13.5m move from Roma to Hebei China Fortune and Fredy Guarin's £9.75m switch from Inter Milan to Shanghai Shenhua.

Last summer, former Chelsea frontman Demba Ba signed for Shanghai Shenhua for £9.75m, Brazil midfielder Paulinho left Tottenham Hotspur for Guangzhou Evergrande in a £10.5m deal and ex-Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan moved to Shanghai SIPG for £6.75m.

West Ham United forward Nikica Jelavic continued the recent trend of players moving from the continent to football's fastest-growing economy after joining Chinese second division side Beijing Renhe on Tuesday - and PSG forward Ezequiel Lavezzi has now signed for Hebei China Fortune.

How much have CSL clubs spent in the transfer window?

Teixeira's recent big-money move to Jiangsu Suning took total spending among teams in China to £194.2m - and Lavezzi's switch - for a fee that has not been disclosed - means the spending has broken the £200m barrier.

This figure surpasses the £172.65m that Premier League sides spent during the January transfer window, with Stoke's £18.3m capture of midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Porto the biggest outlay of last month.

With the window open for several days yet, Chinese clubs could still target more big names from Europe, subject to rules governing the number of foreign-based players a team can have.

How many foreign players are CSL sides allowed?

The league states that each team can have a total of just five foreign players, which must include one from the Asian Football Confederation.

However, each club is only allowed to field a maximum of four overseas stars at any one time.

Which CSL sides can still sign foreign players?

The vast majority of the 16 clubs in the CSL have already used up their quota of foreign-based players ahead of the new campaign.

But the likes of Guangzhou R&F and Shijiazhuang Ever Bright still have room on their rosters for more overseas recruits.

Who else could become a target?

Chelsea have already turned down a £75m offer from Jiangsu Suning for their Brazil midfielder Oscar, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph, while Sky sources understand a Chinese club were willing to pay £38m for Dimitri Payet before the West Ham midfielder signed a new contract.

Newcastle United midfielder Cheick Tiote, Manchester United playmaker Juan Mata and Chelsea striker Loic Remy have also been reported targets for other teams in China, while Germany's Bild newspaper has reported that former Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner is weighing up a Far East move.

In fact, it would be no surprise were CSL clubs to start making moves for even bigger Premier League stars, such as Chelsea captain John Terry and his United counterpart Wayne Rooney.

"Every year the number of clubs capable of making big-money additions seems to increase as we are seeing more and more clubs taken over by big enterprises," Chris Atkins, a Chinese football expert based in Guangzhou, told Sky Sports.

And with the TV rights for the next five years of the CSL costing £830m, more than 30 times the previous sum, Shanghai SIPG boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has even suggested that players of the calibre of Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo could one day be lured to the Far East.

"Now, in 2016, China seems to be taking over. Top Chinese clubs today can hold their own with the biggest clubs in Europe when it comes to the transfer fees," said Eriksson.

"Names like Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney, yes, it will probably happen pretty soon."

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...-know-about-footballs-fastest-growing-economy

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Lavezzi has moved to China today.

 

[thinktank]

Lavezzi has moved to China today.

It's gonna change the whole landscape of the game imo.

 

[Dharmabum]

Whether that figure of £19,5M is true or not may be up for debate but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ear-deal-join-Chinese-club-Shanghai-SIPG.html

Carlos Tevez rejects a £19.5m-a-year deal to join Chinese club Shanghai SIPG

• Carlos Tevez re-joined boyhood club Boca Juniors last summer
• He captained Boca to their 31st Argentine Primera Division in November
• The cash-rich Chinese leagues have recruited heavily this winter
• Jackson Martinez, Alex Texeira and Ramires have all moved to China

 

[WalkerboyUK]

It's gonna change the whole landscape of the game imo.

Not sure about that to be honest.
Until they develop their own players to a similar standard, there's nothing to fear.
It's just an extension of what happened when the J-League started in the late 90s.

Players can fuck off to China for all I care as all it proves is that they care more about money than ever before.
They can't play in prestigious competitions such as the Champions League....
Top European players will instantly lose their national team places.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

Whether that figure of £19,5M is true or not may be up for debate but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ear-deal-join-Chinese-club-Shanghai-SIPG.html

Carlos Tevez rejects a £19.5m-a-year deal to join Chinese club Shanghai SIPG

• Carlos Tevez re-joined boyhood club Boca Juniors last summer
• He captained Boca to their 31st Argentine Primera Division in November
• The cash-rich Chinese leagues have recruited heavily this winter
• Jackson Martinez, Alex Texeira and Ramires have all moved to China

Figure will be right - Lavezzi is picking up £400k per week, which is £20.5 million per year.
£19.5 million works out at £375k per week

 

[thinktank]

Not sure about that to be honest.
Until they develop their own players to a similar standard, there's nothing to fear.
It's just an extension of what happened when the J-League started in the late 90s.

Players can fuck off to China for all I care as all it proves is that they care more about money than ever before.
They can't play in prestigious competitions such as the Champions League....
Top European players will instantly lose their national team places.

Thinking more of the market (inflation in particular) and the behaviour of clubs in adjusting scouting and procurement methodology and rearing their own players etc.

I think this activity in China will only increase.

 

[thinktank]

Figure will be right - Lavezzi is picking up £400k per week, which is £20.5 million per year.
£19.5 million works out at £375k per week

That's so mad.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

Thinking more of the market (inflation in particular) and the behaviour of clubs in adjusting scouting and procurement methodology and rearing their own players etc.

I think this activity in China will only increase.

It will probably hit European clubs with Asian based sponsors.....
They will be more likely to poor money into clubs closer to home if they are attracting big name players.

 

[Dirty Ewok]

It's gonna change the whole landscape of the game imo.

I don't know that it will change the landscape. It may raise some eyebrows in the short-term.

Long Term they seem to have a plan that is centred around potentially hosting a World-Cup and becoming the dominant Asian nation (I have also seen it said that they would love to have a team that is capable of progression in the Club WC) in the sport.

So they are putting a great deal of focus on the academy system but they have a LONG way to go but the government is making a point to have the clubs drive this. The government has set a goal to have 20,000 players in academies by year and it looks like they will get to it. But it will take years for them to raise their overall level of play in terms of "homegrown" players.

Short-term, they aren't looking to compete with Europe. They are smart enough to know that they can't get the best players in the world to play in China at their peak. What they are trying to do is get a higher profile inside China. There are 1.3 Billon people in the country, if they can get a fraction of them to become fans then the league and the teams stand to make a ton of money and proof of this has already been seen in the TV deal (in 2015 the TV rights to the league sold for ~$9m, in 2016 the TV rights are part of a 5 year $1Bn deal).

But even bringing people short term feeds into the long term, because if they can get more of the youth interested in the sport they gain more kids to draw from when feeding the academies.

It's all very interesting but isn't far off from what has been seen in other smaller leagues in the past. This time it is notable because of the astounding amount of money they are paying to drive the spike in interest.

 

[Danners9]

Tim Cahill signed a new contract in November. Yesterday he was released. Shanghai Shenhua paid him $4m to terminate the deal. He's 35. Fans are apparently very upset about it.

 

[thinktank]

It will probably hit European clubs with Asian based sponsors.....
They will be more likely to poor money into clubs closer to home if they are attracting big name players.

That would depend on the TV audience for their league though wouldn't it?

[edit] Ah, it's ok... @Dirty Ewok answered that in his post referring to tv rights increase.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

That would depend on the TV audience for their league though wouldn't it?

If the league grows, then so will it's reach...
Guess it depends on who they want to market the league to.

 

[thinktank]

Tim Cahill signed a new contract in November. Yesterday he was released. Shanghai Shenhua paid him $4m to terminate the deal. He's 35. Fans are apparently very upset about it.

Just like winning the lottery that it. Bonkers.

 

[TheChosenOne]

They are very good at making a defensive wall.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Chinese are mad... they just see other people doing things and they want to copy. As soon as they see that there isn't as much money to be made in football as there is in digging up half of Africa's gold and diamond mines, they'll forget about it and move on.

 

[LSUY]

It's gonna change the whole landscape of the game imo.

I can't see it being anything more than a retirement home and a place for players who want money. The last thing to change the landscape of football was the creation of the Champions League. Chinese clubs might have the money but they won't have a competition as appealing as the CL or clubs with the history of certain European sides. Also, I can't see too many young European players risking their national team career by going to China. Steve McManaman moved to Real Madrid, played fairly often for them and hardly got a look in with the England team, so if an English player moves to China they'd be kissing their England career goodbye. I can't see too many risking a chance to play at the World Cup in order to go to China.

Besides, the time difference is going to harm the Chinese league from expanding its audience. In Europe and Africa, you would have to get up in the morning and in North America the early hours of the morning. You're willing to do that for a World Cup but not season after season.

 

[Gbspurs]

Not sure why China didnt just pump this money into youth development instead. Surely with the sort of money being invested they could turn their league/national side into a more competitive force in time.

 

[thinktank]

Not sure why China didnt just pump this money into youth development instead. Surely with the sort of money being invested they could turn their league/national side into a more competitive force in time.

Think they are doing that as well.

 

[Dirty Ewok]

Not sure why China didnt just pump this money into youth development instead. Surely with the sort of money being invested they could turn their league/national side into a more competitive force in time.

They are pumping it into youth.

They are on pace to have 20,000 players in academies by 2017 and have the largest club run academy in the world.

This is all so the teams can draw more viewers to the league IN China. it is a market with 1.3 Billion people, you just need to get some of that to make some money.