By David Owen
November 5 – The other club in Barcelona – Espanyol, currently 10th in La Liga – look poised to fall under Chinese control. The Guangdong-based Rastar Group has said its Hong Kong unit is to buy 45%-56% of the club in a deal valued at up to almost $20 million.
Less than a year ago, Dalian Wanda, another Chinese group that claims to have become the world’s largest sports operating company, acquired 20% of Atlético Madrid.
The new investment comes as La Liga is substantially stepping up its international marketing efforts following its adoption of the collective model used by other leading European leagues for selling lucrative broadcasting rights.
This season Spain’s top tier will actually generate more income from international than domestic broadcasting rights. This constitutes a major change; as recently as last season, they raised less than half as much.
The Chinese Government appears to have sanctioned a massive expansion in the country’s sports economy, as part of a diversification from the more basic industries that have powered its growth up to this point.
Guidelines issued by the State Council have estimated that the Chinese sports market will be worth about $790 billion in 2025, up from just $63 billion last year. The country is due to stage the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2022 and is widely expected to secure the right to host a FIFA World Cup during the first half of the current century.
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