Chinese Teams Face Paying Twice for Soccer Stars Under New Rules
- Authorities step in to curb overspending by leading clubs
- CSL teams spent more than $450 million on players in 2016
This article is for subscribers only.
Chinese teams will effectively pay twice to purchase soccer stars after authorities announced regulations designed to curb overspending that threatens to create a bubble in the $5 billion global player-trading market.
Money-losing clubs that buy players will be liable to pay an equivalent sum into a fund designed to promote the development of soccer in China, a priority for President Xi Jinping’s government. The move could limit teams’ ability to make big-money acquisitions and stem the flow of foreign recruits.