THE BIG-SPENDING Chinese Super League is on track to become the world’s dominant football championship, the head of a leading sports marketing firm predicted in an AFP interview.
China has made global headlines in recent weeks thanks to jaw-dropping megabucks moves for Argentina striker Carlos Tevez and Brazil playmaker Oscar.
With the country also investing heavily in grassroots football, Andrew Georgiou, CEO of Lagardere Sports and Entertainment, believes that in time it will rival even the super-popular English Premier League.
“There is no doubt in my mind that at some point in time, the Chinese Super League will become as big if not bigger than any other league in the world,” he told AFP in London on Friday.
“The only uncertainty in my mind is how long that will take. Because fundamentally, the market will be able to support the best players in the world playing the best football in the world in China.”
Money has been pumping into Chinese football ever since China’s President Xi Jinping declared his intention to turn the country into a football superpower.
The target year is 2050 and Georgiou, who has 10 years’ experience in Asian sports marketing, says there is no danger of China’s ruling party losing interest in the project before then.
“The good thing about China is, they’re never in a rush,” says the Australian.
Lagardere has helped Borussia Dortmund boost their profile in China and is due to open a second Chinese office in Shanghai.
Georgiou believes there will be a “quality tipping point” when the Chinese Super League outstrips championships such as the Premier League and Spain’s La Liga, even though it might take decades.
The Chinese Super League currently operates a quota system preventing teams from signing more than four non-Asian players.
It means the vast bulk of Tevez and Oscar’s new team-mates are unheralded Chinese players.
But the hope is that by tightly controlling the numbers of foreigners, China will allow its own home-grown players to blossom, which will in turn attract more high-profile players from elsewhere.
- ‘Tip of the iceberg’ -
Once that local talent has been developed, that (quota) will be released and you’ll see more and more players coming to China,” Georgiou says.
“Because the money will become so big in China that it’ll be really important for them to go there.
What Europe has at the moment is the prestige of playing in Europe, playing in well-established clubs, great brands that mean so much to the world.
“That’ll take longer to develop in China. It’s not a function of if, it’s a function of when.”
Oscar moved to Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea for a reported fee of 60 million euros ($63 million), while Tevez is reportedly set to earn 38 million euros per year after joining Shanghai Shenhua from Boca Juniors.
The eye-watering figures prompted a pledge from the Chinese government to put a cap on transfer spending.
But Georgiou says it is only “the tip of the iceberg”, citing the vast spending power of a growing Chinese middle class tipped to swell from 150 million people to around 550 million by 2022.
The disposable income and purchasing power in China in the next five to 10 years are going to become so big, it’s going to dwarf all other parts of the world,” he said.
“This is the fundamental starting point for how you develop your business. It’s off the back of consumers wanting to spend and consume your product. And football in China is really popular.”
Georgiou points out that China is already a football pioneer, highlighting the speed with which mobile has overtaken television and online as the primary means of consuming football content in the country.
The Chinese consumer is skipping straight to mobile and that’s a real difference in how you communicate with fans,” he said.
“They will leapfrog, they will become the leaders and the rest of the world will be catching up.”
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What goes around comes around i spose where would city and chelsea be without their sugar daddys
Don’t forget United who broke records in recent years with Di Maria and Pogba they’re no different in splashing the cash trying to buy success
*you don’t have to have sugar daddies to buy success the players do care where the money comes from as long as it ends up in their accounts
Don’t
Out of curiosity alan..is this a real hobbie for ya. Do u get enjoyment out of drivin man u supporters crazy with ur comments, u are literally on every man u article u must get some kick out of it…i dont even support the f##ckers but u are persistent to be fair
Alan, head to bed and sleep it off. Good boy.
United are spending money they earned themselves as a business. If anything they are the sugar daddy’s to the glazers in paying off huge debts. Perfectly entitled to spend the money they earn on players. Big difference.
They’re still trying to buy the league after all they do have the most expensive squad in the history of football
Yeah I suppose being the club with highest revenue in world football they should concentrate on paying the glazers a massive dividend instead. They’re spending money they make which should be reinvested back into the club – players.
You’re away with the fairies it’s Madrid followed by Barcelona http://uk.businessinsider.com/footballs-19-biggest-earning-teams
At that changes my point how?
Regardless of where the money comes from it doesn’t take away from the point that United are as bad as these Chinese clubs splashing the cash an example is Pogba he’s no more worth that money and the wages the pay Rooney?is he honestly worth that?
Your whole point was based on them being having the highest revenue of any club in the world spud
Because Man City or Chelsea never signed players to win the league???
Manchester have the highest wages of any football club in the world
Poor Alan
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3058868/Liverpool-190-signings-spent-800m-25-year-wait-19th-league-title-John-Aldridge-blames-transfer-market-failings-barren-spell.html
And united have spent 650 million in 4 years makes Liverpools 800 million over 25 look scabby
My whole point was centred around them spending money that’s theirs and they have a lot of it. In the next year they will have the highest revenue of any club in the world. Doesn’t change the fact it’s their own and they have enough of it. Where else should they put it realistically in your opinion? I’d rather they spent it on bringing in players like pogba than giving it to the glazers. By your logic Liverpool are trying to buy the title if you compare their spending to Leicesters.
Self sustaining football club spends money to be successful…. That’s shocking Alan. My God. What will happen if the sheiks or the Russian Oligarch pull out of Old Trafford?
Manchester City have a sugar daddy and threw money at footballers they didn’t need..
Yea and Liverpool have spent 610m in the last 10 years and have a league cup to show for it..
I’ve no idea why people have a big issue with the Chinese league, but never had an issue with players loyalty when it was the premier league. We all thought it was great when the likes of aguero, Torres, Tevez, veron, ozil, etc came to the premier league. I don’t think any of them were doing it for the love of their new new clubs. I doubt zlatan has always been dying to live in Manchester, surely the wages may have helped. Players follow money, they’ve followed it to England long enough, and now there’s a new competitor, no problem with that.
@Gerry with a J: totally agree Jerry, not too long ago £6b for tv rights was heralded as the best thing to happen to football, huge amount of very very average players in England making crazy money for sitting on a bench, but now you “lack ambition” for moving to China!!
A great bunch of lads.
So original
Who gives a shite as long as we can watch the games on the telly.
@Richy people will give a shit when you have a bunch of shite players playing in England and all the best players in the world playing in China. You have to remember it ain’t like GAA or rugby where you support your local club.
Unless China itself becomes a strong footballing nation people will not take its league seriously.
Is england a strong footballing nation?
are England a strong football nation , internationally ? they won one world cup 51 years ago … and haven’t been a serious threat since then .. by your logic Uruguay are just as strong . it’s nothing to do with football its just money
How dare anyone challenge ireland’s premier league ,sorry there, forgot it’s England’s premier league .
‘ middle class swelling from 150 M to 550 million by 2022′ . In 6 years! Listen lads, he is an Aussie shooting his mouth off.
For veterans
For now.
If they keep throwing out the money that they are at now, eventually more established players will go in their prime. Interesting to see how things will work out. Could be worrying times for European football.
@James Quinn: Chinese professional football is notorious for being both fake and fabricated.
@James Quinn: To elaborate, look at the fine youtube videos of last minute Chinese league goals. It’s a comedy show of clowns masquerading as golakeepers and 4 nil overturns in the last ten minutes. It might have been a golden age of European football but most players will always want to win the Champions league and not the Asian league of the highest bidder.
Football is about money and nothing else. Look at Rooney, he threw the dummies out of the pram unless he got 300 grand a week. The Champions league means nothing. The likes of Di Maria and Falcao followed the money to Manchester, there’s way more on offer to go to China. A footballer has a short career, you might change your tune in a few years.
Huge opportunity for Irish players to take opportunities when given, English clubs will eventually become tired of the big European/S.American names who chase the cash.
What a waste of money…
It can become the top league but whatever loyalty is left in football will be gone forever.
@Ardmore02: loyalty died many moons ago!! Modern players are loyal to the green!!
Loyalty in football lol
T think the question for us to ask is if this project is sustainable. Can they keep paying tens of millions of dollars to a single players as annual wages? I dont think so. But you can see the point, they are trying to build something for the long term, but is this the way to do it? I also dont think so!
http://footyholic.net/36/footballers-moving-china/
Hopefully this is true as then more Irish lads will get a chance in prem