Adam Minter, Columnist

Can China Become a Soccer Superpower?

The beautiful game is ugly in China. Foreign superstars won't help.

February 23, 2016 at 10:00 PM UTC

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

They're trying.
Photographer: Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images

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China's stock markets are in decline, its debts are rising alarmingly and its mighty steel industry is suffering from a global commodities rout. But amid all the gloom there's a bright spot: Markets in English soccer superstar Wayne Rooney are booming.

According to a report in the U.K.'s Mirror, an unnamed Chinese professional team has offered Rooney's club, Manchester United, $38 million to part with him. If Man U doesn't like that offer, there's reportedly another Chinese club waiting to deal. Rooney, for his part, has signaled he’s not interested -- at least until his contract expires in 2018.