FEBRUARY 20 — A few weeks ago, if you had been told that a batch of superstar footballers would all soon be making big-money transfers to the same league, you would have named a few obvious options.
The English Premier League, for starters, always sees a steady supply of megabucks signings from overseas jumping at the chance to join the richest football competition in the world.
A handful of clubs in Spain’s Primera Division and Germany’s Bundesliga also boast the resources to make serious waves in the transfer market, while Paris St Germain’s ownership by the Qatari government gives them the resources to sign literally anyone.
So I don’t think that many of us would have identified China as the next lucrative destination for a handful of big-name players.
Yet that is exactly what has happened, with Colombian striker Jackson Martinez, Argentina international forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, Brazilian midfielder Ramires and former Arsenal striker Gervinho all heading east to take part in the rapidly approaching new Chinese Super League season, with all of them set to receive far higher wages than they were previously commanding in Europe.
Ok, those players are from the “B List” of the world game — they are well known to keen football fans but are not exactly superstars of the Lionel Messi variety.
But the Chinese spending spree will not be over until next Friday’s transfer deadline, and the latest name to be linked to a move to China certainly does belong to the elite, in terms of reputation if not recent performance: Wayne Rooney.
Although Manchester United have denied it, media reports are claiming that a Chinese club has offered the English giants £100 million (RM605.8 miilion) for the veteran forward, who would supposedly be paid an astonishing £20 million per year for his services.
Even if it doesn’t happen, the fact that Chinese football is now being linked with a player of Rooney’s global renown is a clear sign that the country is determined to become a serious force on the international football scene, and it is looking inevitable that more and more famous names will be heading to China in the next few years.
The finances to make such transfer possible have been provided by no less than the Chinese government, with the country’s president Xi Jingping implementing a strategy which is intended to see China both host and win the World Cup in the next decade or so.
It is a bold and ambitious plan for a country which, until very recently, has never had a significant football culture, and although foreign talent and facilities can easily be bought if sufficient funds are forthcoming, it will clearly take time for China to develop the necessary homegrown talent to become a strong international team.
Although it might at first sight appear to be a short-term measure, the recruitment of big-name foreigners is, in fact, all part of the masterplan, carried out in the hope of attracting new fans and allowing the ‘grassroots’ interest in the sport to grow.
It seems to be working. The average attendances at Super League games has more than doubled in the last ten years, from just 10,284 in 2005 to 22,193 last season.
That puts the competition in the top ten of football’s most-watched domestic leagues, ahead of countries with a long-established passion for the game such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina and Brazil.
And if the recent upward trend is maintained, remarkably it won’t be long before more people on average watch Chinese Super League games than the former standard bearer of world football, Italy’s Serie A.
The Chinese national team is also making great strides, losing only five of their last 37 games and in with a chance of progressing to the third and final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup Finals – a home game next month against group leaders Qatar will be crucial.
Clearly, the size and wealth of China means that the country possesses enormous potential, and if money continues to be pumped into the game and is spent wisely, there is no reason why it won’t lead to the ascent of a new sporting superpower.
And despite the influx of foreigner, the Super League has maintained a sensible policy of limiting clubs to just four overseas stars, meaning that teams will contain a majority of domestic players, providing incentives for young Chinese footballers to know that their route into the professional game will not be blocked by highly-paid foreigners.
There is clearly a very long way to go before China can be considered a major footballing nation. But all the current indications are pointing in that direction, and the possibility that clubs like Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Guoan will soon be competing on equal terms with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich cannot be discounted.
China’s football story is only just starting.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
