Chinese soccer funding under scrutiny and defending champions collapses
Chinese Football League champions Jiangsu FC is in chaos and is fighting for his future, less than three months after being crowned for the first time in his history.
Jiangsu, whose supporters own the Italian club Inter, is facing a financial collapse, according to widespread reports, and its depleted squad has not been informed of a date to start training before the start of next season.
Jiangsu, formerly known as Jiangsu Suning, points to the erratic nature of Chinese football and re-shines a spotlight on its precarious financial resources.
And Chinese football sites considered that Jiangsu is facing the issue of "resilience," noting that the club owned by the Suning Group, which owns Inter, lost its coach in addition to its Brazilian striker Alex Teixeira, who spent an incredible amount of 50 million euros on him.
Last November, the Brazilian played a key role in the Romanian coach Cosmen Olaroyo's squad and surprised defending champion Gwangju Evergandi and Italian coach Fabio Cannavaro in two encounters in the final round (0 - 0 and 2-1) of the renewed league.
But trouble was brewing in Jiangsu, in the eastern city of Nanjing.
In the summer of 2019, the club was close to signing Welsh winger Gareth Bale, before returning to Tottenham from Real Madrid, with a deal rumored that it would give him a weekly salary of $ 1.4 million, but the capital giant Madrid changed the move.
Last season's reports said that Jiangsu players had refused to train for a short period of time due to lack of salaries.
"We faced difficulties in front of the opponent and we also faced difficulties inside the club, and this made me somewhat disappointed after the final, even with our victory," Olaroyo said in a press interview after the coronation of Jiangsu.
The 51-year-old left his post early this month, according to Romanian and Chinese reports.
The club did not comment on this matter, while the Croatian striker Ivan Santini followed.
"Within three days, the club lost a coach who led it to the league title and a main striker," the daily Oriental Sports wrote this week.
Teixeira also played his last game after his contract expired, while fellow defender Miranda is trying to return home.
"What will Jiangsu look like next season? Nobody has a definitive answer now," Oriental Sports added.
"The team lost its coach and several foreign players. Nobody knows the team’s plan for the new season, and now the players have to wait," she added.
"Resilience priority"
Chinese football tightens the belt of austerity and it seems that the extravagant days of the likes of Teixeira and his compatriot Oscar coming to Shanghai SIPG for 60 million euros are over.
At least two other teams face serious economic problems, while Olaroyo talked about problems behind the scenes in a team that was coached by the famous Italian Fabio Capello and included Brazilian midfielder Ramirich from Chelsea for 28 million euros in 2016 before leaving in 2019.
The club is still owned by retail giant Suning, although Suning was removed from his name earlier this month, according to the requirements of the Chinese Football League.
Sunning responded in December to "rumors" about his financial situation and threatened legal prosecution.
Suning President Zhang Jindong delivered a speech last week, hinting at the possibility of him staying away from sports, what some considered bad news for Suning and his fans.
"We will focus on retailing firmly and without hesitation, we will close our non-retail business," said the businessman, whose club Inter leads the Italian league.
It is expected that the next season of the Chinese League will begin next spring, but its date is not specified due to the repercussions of the Corona virus pandemic.
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