January 8 – It wasn’t so long ago that the Chinse Super League (CSL) was flying high boasting superstar players and salaries but that is in the rear view mirror and confirmed by the fact that the most successful club, Guangzhou FC, will not play professionally next season because of their failure to pay off enough of their substantial debt.
Eight times Guangzhou FC have been champions of the CSL, however that counts for nothing as they have been refused permission by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to play in professional domestic football when the new campaign begins.
It was just 15 years ago when the property developers, China Evergrande, bought the club who were languishing in the second tier of Chinese football. The group immediately renamed the team, Guangzhou Evergrande, pumping millions into the club.
The great Italian coach, Marcello Lippi was coaxed out of retirement and led the team to three CSL titles, a Chinese FA Cup and the AFC Champions League. He was followed by the colourful Brazilian World Cup winner, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won seven trophies in two-and-a-half years.
With the league growing and spending at breakneck speed, former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said at the time: “China looks to have the financial power to move a whole European league to China.”
Looking at the potential financial trainwreck, the Chinese Football Association, introduced a ‘luxury tax’ that made big-money transfers a thing of the past. A salary cap was also introduced and sponsors were banned from naming teams after themselves, meaning Guangzhou Evergrande were renamed Guangzhou FC.
In 2021 as the real estate crisis enveloped China, Guangzhou FC defaulted on debt payments, and the following year filed for bankruptcy. New stadium proposals were cancelled and players with any value were sold, which not surprisingly resulted in relegation back to where they began in the second tier.
“We regret that we failed to make it, hence our sincerest apologies to fans and the people from all walks of life that support the club,” Guangzhou said in a statement.
“We will not change our original intention and do our best to deal with the aftermath and support the development of Chinese football and Guangdong and Guangzhou football.”
The dream of China president, Xi Jinping was to make his country a superpower in the world of football. Like Guangzhou FC, that dream now lay in tatters.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1736373249labto1736373249ofdlr1736373249owedi1736373249sni@o1736373249fni1736373249
