Football: China in 'bubble' warning as spending tops US$1 billion
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Chelsea midfielder Oscar is the latest big name to be linked with a transfer to the Chinese Super League. Spending in Chinese football has topped US$1 billion (S$1.44 billion) this year.
PHOTO: EPA
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Beijing (AFP) - China's state media warned a "bubble" had developed in Chinese football on Friday after spending topped US$1 billion (S$1.44 billion) this year and rumours swirled of yet more big-money signings.
Chelsea's Oscar and Argentine forward Carlos Tevez were the latest players linked with the deep-pocketed Chinese Super League this week as clubs look set to extend their lavish spree.
The influential People's Daily urged clubs to control their "headstrong" spending, which follows official decrees that China should become a global football superpower.
While there is "no reason to restrict capital" in the Super League, clubs must have focus and discipline on spending for the sake of their own long-term health, an article in the Communist Party mouthpiece said.
It said 8 billion yuan (S$1.66 billion) had been spent this year, a sum which "far exceeded the economic value brought to the league".
The explosive growth in football investments is a "bubble" given the slower growth in ticket and licensed product sales, the article added.
Chinese firms have spent freely this year on foreign football clubs, players, and broadcasting rights in an effort to diversify their businesses and aid Chinese President Xi Jinping's dream of making China into a global centre of gravity for the sport.
