Despite the huge money on offer, Arsene Wenger says that it will take a long time for China to establish itself as a football culture to match those in Europe and South America.
While admitting that the wages on offer would become a problem if they were viewed as the norm, he seemed to suggest that the scatter-gun approach to attracting talent, and the money on offer to players in the truly competitive leagues at the moment, won’t see things change any time soon.
Speaking about the football in general, he said, “You do not create a top league just like that,
“When you want to be a football player your first aspiration is to play in the best league with the best players.
“After that, you want to combine playing in the best league with the best players for the maximum amount of money. That combination is best in England right now. But professional football in England was created 150 years ago. And we still struggle, you know.
“I believe it’s a slow process of creating a football culture.”
With Arsenal currently negotiating with some of their top players, it was put to him that the eye-watering sums on offer from Chinese clubs might make it more difficult.
“Not really. Overall the players have everything today to be more happy than 20 years ago, never mind 40,” he said.
“They are treated very well, they have a fantastic income. They have freedom of movement which we didn’t have. The danger is that players start asking for money that’s unrealistic in the Premier League.
“If Chinese wages become the benchmark then you cannot compete with that. But we do not know whether, in 10 years’ time, China will still be doing it.
“Sometimes, if it’s a political decision, that can change.”
Indeed, that seems to be case. This comes from an email we received from Chinese reader Dylan:
Just today the Chinese FA has confirmed that the rules have been changed for the coming season (which starts in March, though some clubs will be playing in the Asian Champions League in February). Instead of 5 foreigners allowed, one of which must be from an AFC country, with 4 on the pitch at any one time (again, one from Asia), the limit is being cut to 3 used during any one match.
That means that naming more than 3 to your match day squad is effectively pointless. There are Australian players in the country for medicals right now who will now have to return home. There are major contracts already in effect which are now just a waste of money. It seems this was a decision handed down from the Chinese government, which of course is illegal because such interference with an FA is forbidden by FIFA.
It came out of the blue with no warning, no consultation, just six weeks before the season. The Party panicking about capital flight? It’s chaos right now and no one knows what the fallout of this is going to be. Expect the Western media to continue to link players to big-money moves, but are they actually plausible?
Just thought you might be interested in the shambles going down in the country where everything can change at a moment’s notice.
So, the money might be good, but clearly there’s a lot more going on and it will take more time and development before they begin to attract the really top talent. If they ever manage to get that far.
Although the money clearly sounds amazing, the PL guys are already on more money than most of them can spend in a lifetime.
To travel around china is fascinating but there are very few places you’d want to stay more than a couple of months. So most of the overseas players will end up being bored stupid and playing 3rd rate football…
Is Adebayor there yet 😀
He’s not in China (not yet anyway). Adebayor’s still trains in his backyard in Togo.
China got one plan…. To influence every sphere…. I don’t like the sound it….
When you have media reports here today confirming the crackdown on heavy spending on overseas players in China, it will certainly shake up what has been happening.
Money laundering…I’m sure the govt will want to take back their share of the pie.:D
Not getting excited yet. Oscar was a crazy money move but can’t see many top players following him, or the Chinese having enough money to buy them all anyway, as well as the top managers, the top trainers, top training facilities etc that are needed.
And all the current supporters would go away, I’m not waking up in the middle of the night to watch a team with no history or that I have no connection to.
Oscar moved to Shanghai which is one of the few places worth staying for a length of time.
For most footballers 95% of the country will be far to boring to stay in for more than a weekend.
give me 20k a week and I’d stay in China where ever.
Seems to be a bit of a South American bend going on in China. Evidently, the South Americans seem to feel relatively at home out there and are better settled because of their compatriots. If I were the Chinese, I’d see if I could have some sort of counter investment in Brazillian football league which needs overhaul. There could be a decent tie up with South America which could help elevate China’s nascent talent but also maybe develop and market the South American league for better telecast. South America is a huge market which I’m sure the Chinese will want… Read more »
Shorter flight from China to Brazil Oscar can probably go home for Sunday lunch in Brazil. With family at new house he bought them. Back in training Tuesday …. And still be best player on pitch on Saturday
You may not be as interested in living in China if you could earn 15k per week staying where you are though…
Wenger and Ferguson said money would not guaranty success for billionnaire owners. Chealsea and City won the league many times and we haven’t won ever since. Let’s be careful about what we say about China.
Chavski had a lot of money spent over a fair period of time before the Tinkerman put together a strong squad that started competing at the top. The Russian money only needed to add that extra little bit, which it did at a silly cost (at the time).
Similarly $iteh was owned by billionaires long before the Oil money came in.
Many expensive managers, expensive players and a fair few years went by before they won the league.
Neither was anywhere near an overnight success and had a much more solid base than the China League…
They had top opposition like Arsenal, lots of fans of the PL teams. Plus TV money. Plus history. Few Chinese players.
All unlike China.
Maybe the Chinese Government has it right… with a core of home players and just 3 mercenaries on the pitch at one time… sounds good to me…
Just made me wonder when Greg Duke became the government of China.
DYKE… bloody autocorrect…
The Chinese are trying to do what the Japanese did with the J league.
The effort is in part to grow and improve football as a sport but also the average level of the players.
But it will take more than just highly paid high profile imports.
They need a complete regiment overhaul and efforts in place to develop talent from youth levels upwards.
Otherwise it will be cosmetic and not sustainable.
Actually there could be good market opportunity for the Arsenal brand.
If the club can go in with concerted effort with some development schools out there, it could mean a lot of revenue because the market is simply enormous.
The same can be said for the US which despite more advance development still remains relatively untapped.
I think the Chinese govt itself is trying to crack down on the mad spending. Could be a bit of money laundering going on over there. Certainly there is a wide gulf between the 3 or 4 foreign players the clubs bring in at rather high wages compared to the local lads and their own capabilities at present so it isn’t easy to see if it will sustain. The competition in England is slightly more real. But there is no doubt the purchasing power of the Chinese league has bearing to the market here. It constricts the supply side further… Read more »
Contracts in China are not respected like they are in Europe. Drogba signed for Shanghai Shenhua for £200k per week in July 2012 on a 2.5 year contract. They stopped paying his wages and he was forced to leave within 6 months. These 400k deals for 4 years are not what they seem.