Spanish La Liga chief says ‘Chinese league needs to grow up a little bit’ despite cash injection
Javier Tebas “not worried at all” about the best players being tempted by lucrative salary offers in the Super League
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
China’s cash-rich Super League needs to work on improving local talent as well as dipping into their deep pockets to attract top foreign players, the La Liga chief said on Thursday.
Javier Tebas said he was “not worried at all” about the best La Liga players being tempted by lucrative salary offers as the level of competition in Spain was already a strong incentive for them to stay on.
“Before they become really attractive for Spanish football players, the Chinese league needs to grow up a little bit,” said Tebas.
“You have so many good players of high level in Spain to keep [top players] playing there.
“They [China] not only need to buy players from outside, but they need to grow the level of the local players.”
Tebas was talking at the launch of La Liga’s office in Singapore as part of moves to expand their presence in Southeast Asia, a football-crazy region of more than 600 million people.
China’s richest man says patience required to become soccer superpower
La Liga already has offices in Dubai, China and India.
“There are so many players, with so many stars that keep on playing in Spanish football. They are not tempted,” he said.
Despite an official crackdown on transfer fees and wages and a cut in the number of foreign players allowed, Chinese Super League clubs spent a record US$427 million in the January-February transfer window.
This is 16 times the spending by La Liga, according to the BBC, although La Liga’s numbers were lowered by Real Madrid’s transfer ban and China’s longer transfer window.
Making China’s football dream come true will require much more than money
Among the players who took the plunge into China were Argentina’s former Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus striker Carlos Tevez and Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Oscar.
Tevez, 33, is reported to be on world-record wages of €730,000 (HK$6m) a week with Shanghai Shenhua, while Oscar is reportedly banking €466,000 a week with Shanghai SIPG.
Such wages would put them at the top two of football’s wages list, above the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, a football fan, has previously stated his desire to have his country someday host and win a World Cup.
China transfers hit new record despite crackdown
The government last year released a plan calling for China to become an elite football nation by 2050.
Spain’s La Liga currently plays host to the world’s three best players, as crowned by world football governing body Fifa in January.
Real Madrid’s Ronaldo was awarded Fifa’s best men’s footballer of 2016, while long-time Barcelona rival Messi took second.
Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann finished in third to complete a La Liga sweep of the top honours.
