The Chinese league is just short term farce which will end in tears. Honest!
As a football fan, I have been quite concerned this week given the Diego Costa and Dimitri Payet situation. Both players have refused to play for their clubs after Chinese teams have offered both over 600k a week to play in the newly formed league. This situation not only shows how much money is reflective of football at the moment but also the power of agents. Jorge Mendes in particular has been flexing his financial muscles in setting players up for a move half way across the world, the 10 percent he makes off transfer dealings would probably be a factor in why he was key for his clients to go over to Asia.
For those who are not aware, Jorge Mendes represents Diego Costa and also represents three other players who have moved to the Chinese Super League within the last two years. These players are also Brazilian born like Costa and both were good players on the European stage, in fact both of these players were about to sigh for Premier League clubs before Jorge had a word.
This is also a common theme in the nationally of players who have moved to China, the majority of these being South American practically Argentina and Brazilian players. There are two reasons why the players have chosen to do this and why the Chinese league want these players.
Point number one, South American players are technically the best football players out there, how many south American players have we seen and just thought wow what a player. The skill level of even average players from South America is far better than most British players so the quality of the games would be quite high for Chinese fans to watch if six or seven players who are of high quality.
The second reason is obviously money of which South America players can generate for clubs and befit from personally. If you watch the trend of South American players and their transfer movements, they start very young at local club which they make there name, when they are established they are then picked up by a big European club. Italian clubs have mastered this very well practically the Milan clubs who have signed a number of Brazilians over the last fifteen years. If they play well over the years and hopefully play for a big team who wins trophy’s or are regulars in the Champions League before going back to play for the team they started off with in South America. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez are just three players who have followed this method to the career path of a South American footballer.
You have to remember also that a lot of these lads would have come from very poor backgrounds and have family to look after back home and so money to look after the family forever is a big pull for lots of them. However, the Chinese league is different to this as they are simply plucking good to average players in order for people to watch the league in the hope it will become like the EPL.
I’m glad to say that I am of the opinion that this will never happen and the next few points are why I think this is the case. If you look at the EPL audience, particularly in the UK, people are willing to pay hundred pounds a month for Sky because of the quality of player on show and the extensive coverage it offers supporters. Sky television are aware that the UK Is football mad and people are willing to pay a hundred pounds or more for Sky because the quality of life in this country allows people to have enough disposable income for this to happen.
China on the other had is currently in an economic crisis, the majority of the country’s working people are very poor with levels of disposable income non-existent and the government in China would also never allow a Sky style type television station as it is here to happen, as a communist country with communist values you would never see such a capitalist idea come into peoples mind-set . To summarise, I wouldn’t worry about the Chinese league taking over the world. In fact I would give the league five years max before it folds.
Don’t forget this throwing money about idea to football has happened before in the USA and in Russia. Remember Anzi? That Russian team that was buying people on ridiculous wages and contracts like Chris Samba and Samuel Eto’o? Remember Zenit St Petersburg was doing the same? Look at them now, one of them is bankrupt while the other is losing all its players because the league is not competitive at all.
In reference to the USA, when Beckham joined LA Galaxy in 2007 there was a huge influx in British players going over to the states for about it five years ago. Luke Rodgers is an example of this, the former Port Vale and Shrewsbury striker became Thierry Henry’s strike partner for two years.
I doubt however that the crowds at the New York Red Bulls came to see Rodgers I have to say. Darren Huckerby is an example of over the hill players wanting a final pay day, when he sighed for San Jose the press thought he was Ryan Giggs! More recently Bradley and Shaun Wright-Phillips moved to the States after their carers have stalled in the UK while the other team’s best foreign inputs are Mexicans and dodgy European players from France and Germany.
My point is that fads like this come and go in football, everyone thought that the two country’s mentioned would take over football through money and that hasn’t happened. If you look at Chinese owners of English clubs and the success they have had this season, look at Villa and Wolves. Both mid table in the championship after spending millions last summer.
Footballers are mercenaries but most of all they want to win things. Ronaldo and Messi would never go to China and players of a similar ilk are the same. Trophies outweigh money every day of the week for players, agents can bend some ears but not all. I mentioned Tevez previously for a plyer going back to his childhood club but that guy has as much morals ad a burglar, the guy who left a successful United team to join a City team who hadn’t won anything in years just because they paid him a hundred grand more a week. He also professed his love of Boca juniors before the Chinese came calling with the millions a year that could offer him and he was soon off.
And if Payet and Costa leave for China anyway? So what, Chelsea and West Ham proved on the weekend that they and the EPL don’t need them. Good riddance to bad rubbish.