China’s Super League starts season with international football stars

Global Business

China's Super League starts season with international football stars

The expectations for the Chinese Super League football are as unprecedented as the amount of money that’s poured into the sport.

CGTN’s Owen Fairclough reports.

Brazilian stars Hulk and Oscar Shanghai SIPG’s key signings demonstrate why they’re among the world’s most coveted players.

They’ve been attracted to China’s Super League by unprecedented spending on foreign talent – $406 million, more than any of Europe’s big leagues.

Carlos Tevez is now the world’s highest paid player at reportedly three quarters of a million dollars a week. Not even Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi can command that kind of salary.

But there are concerns about the sustainability of this unprecedented investment.

Authorities capped the number of foreign players on a squad, partly to cap excessive spending.

They’re also worried about squeezing out home grown players under pressure to win the World Cup for their country by 2050. It’s unlikely the Chinese national team will make next year’s tournament.