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| Carlos Tevez |
The football war is on with the news
this week that Cristiano Ronaldo has turned down a €300 million transfer offer
to play football in the China Super League. It seems the Real Madrid striker could
be the next name on a list that has already claimed Carlos Tevez from his
boyhood club Boca Juniors in Argentina to sign for Shanghai Shenhua. The Brazilian
star Oscar, albeit in the twilight of a glittering career, who is also moving for
a €420,000 per week deal. These developments no doubt sending shivers through
the Premier League so very accustomed to bringing stars from abroad to England for
what have been to date record breaking wages.
Throughout Europe the feeling will
be the same as club presidents contemplate the fees that could be earned from
selling, not only key assets, but unloading peripheral ones on lengthy and unaffordable
deals. In a sport constantly seeking more cash to run expensive operations the
new China option clearly will make 2017 a very happy new year for many. Which already
impacted on Liverpool a year ago, when they missed out on Brazilian Alex
Teixeira. However, Juergen Klopp believes clubs like Liverpool still carry
lustre for those whose priority is football over wages. But he may very well
being walking alone with that assessment when he explained: “Nobody has to
leave Liverpool because of money,” said Klopp. “Maybe there are a few clubs in
world football who can play better and if you can go there, these few clubs,
yes then do it. But for all the rest this should be the best place to be.”
A touch of wishful thinking no doubt.
Given that the Premier League has just
established its global value thanks to the generosity of Sky Sports and BT
Sport which to date has allowed many clubs claim overseas players with their
loosened cheque books. And indeed, big name managers. No different to what the Italian
league did decades ago. Or La Liga in Spain where FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have
hired nothing but big names on record breaking fees over the years. And still
do with Lionel Messi Sergio Aguero, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar
all enrolled in Spanish football for many years. So, the China influence will
cause concerns in a game that is driven by agents for the most part, all of
whom will now be seeking eastern clubs for more of their assets. The fees
quoted this week make the Paul Pogba move to Manchester United paltry.
Although the traditionalists will
baulk at the thought of having to watch games on TV at three am to see some of their
favourite stars. The stark commercial truth is that it will all be streamlined should
the European audience be of value. However, with the population in China
western viewership and their sleeping habits will be of little concern. But having
been accustomed to seeing the big names every Saturday on a Match of the Day,
live or indeed during Champions league clashes these audiences will fade if the
bigger names and younger starts chose to move east. In Europe, Real Madrid
could see their big names become very attractive also. Albeit Gareth Bale has
just extended his deal for another few years with an official buy-out clause at
€1bn – as a deterrent. Not a problem if any Chinese club fancied him in their
roster.
The names also include managers;
with Luiz Felipe Scolari joining Guangzhou Evergrande; former England manager Sven-Goran
Eriksson now with Shanghai SIPG and Dan Petrescu manages Jiangsu Guoxin Sainty.
Just to mention a few. Unlike the MLS,
or indeed its previous iterations, the USA is no longer the automatic graveyard
choice for retiring names. Or those seeking a juicy pension as China is attracting
a younger age demographic that the US was never able to achieve. The dangers
for the Premier League are obvious.
In 2016 Premier League clubs started
to share the £5.136 billion from Sky Sports who broke the bank to retain most the
UK television rights. A massive increase for the 2016-2019 rights from the
outgoing deal of £3.018bn deal and could not have factored the impact of the
China money that is already making senior professionals to start looking east.
Not only for the twilight years but for their last major deal. Undoubtedly the flights
to China are chocker with hungry agents, would be agents and the football
cognoscenti chasing these life changing financial rewards. It could not come at
a worse time for the Premier league already facing the wider uncertainty of Brexit
and freedom of movement in the EU.
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