Signing stars with the promises of being the highest paid players in the world is only half the story, the other half is actually paying them.
The mega-rich Chinese Super League has been plunged into uncertainty amid the news that thirteen of its clubs could be forced to forfeit the competition.
It has been reported that over half the clubs in China’s top flight have not been paying their players properly, and they have until August 15 to settle their arrears.
The teams listed in a July 11 correspondence between the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Chinese Football Confederation (CFA) risk being denied entry to this season’s competition if they fail to comply with the request.
Social media got a kick out of the news knowing how the Chinese were flexing their wealth while signing their marquee players.
Chinese super league in crisis ? who’d of thought paying players 600k a week would be unstable.
— Aaron Thompson ⚒ (@ThompsWHUFC) July 25, 2017
13 out of 16 clubs in the Chinese Super League have not being paying their players properly. Biggest inevitability in football last few yrs.
— Socanalysis (@SocanalysisHQ) July 25, 2017
Although the highest paid player in the world, Carlos Tevez, has dodged the crisis along with Oscar and Ramires, the thirteen clubs have been given a stern warning. They have time till August 15th to resettle their accounts or face disqualification.