Opinion | Billionaire Zhu Jun takes on state firms by refusing to pay Drogba and Anelka
By withholding wages, the boss of Shanghai Shenhua football club is telling government companies that he will not bend to their whims
Former Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka are not the only ones coming to grips with the hardnosed and unpredictable style of Shanghai Shenhua boss Zhu Jun . The state-run enterprises trying to renege on a deal to give him full control of the club are also facing his wrath.
The flamboyant tycoon's decision to withhold massive pay cheques from the stars may have grabbed the headlines in recent weeks, but the affair also illustrates how the mainland's billionaires are increasingly willing to take on the powerful state firms which have long held sway.
The salary fight is the latest boardroom dust-up stemming from the 2007 deal that gave Zhu management of the club. Under it, Zhu took a 28.5 per cent stake from five local-government-controlled firms who agreed to cover all operating costs.
In exchange, the firms were expected to remain silent partners and give him a controlling stake of 70 per cent once his investment exceeded 150 million yuan (HK$183 million).
Zhu, 46, who made his fortune by founding the Nasdaq-listed gaming firm The9, has spent around 600 million yuan on Shenhua in the past five years, according to local media reports.
A fight over a mainland club might seem like a head-scratcher because they rarely turn a profit. But they are prized by governments and private businesses as a way to build prestige or as a promotional vehicle.