England's Sheffield United has taken a 90 per cent share in struggling Chengdu Five Bull, becoming the first foreign club to take a controlling interest in a Chinese club.
United chairman Kevin McCabe confirmed the deal yesterday during a visit to the Sichuan capital, but would not disclose terms of the contract.
The team will be called the Chengdu Blades, after the English team's nickname, and Sheffield will send out two coaches to train the Chinese club as part of the deal.
Chengdu finished fourth from bottom in China's second division table. The deal was probably a bargain for the English club as the Chengdu side were known to be financially struggling after the club's major stakeholder, China Tobacco Co, pulled out last year, passing its shares over to the care of the Chengdu Football Association.
The Chinese FA has sanctioned the deal, with a spokesman saying: 'Clubs with foreign capital will be treated the same as other clubs.
'We welcome Sheffield United. As long as they obey the association's regulations, there will be no problems'