The Chinese Super League transfer window closed today ahead of their new season which starts on 4th March.
Clubs from the Chinese Super League took everyone by surprise as they splashed the cash and left their mark on the transfer window. Their total spending broke the £200M barrier and surpassed the £172.65M Premier League sides spent during January.
The arrival of high-profile players contributed towards the massive total that was spent and the Chinese Super League transfer record was broken three times in the space of 10 days.
Ramires joined Jiangsu Suning for a record £21M from Chelsea but this was eclipsed a few days later when Jackson Martínez joined reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande for £31.5M. However, the new record was short lived when Jiangsu Suning splashed out £38.4M on Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Other high profile names also moved during the window as Gerinvho left Roma to join Hebei China Fortune for £13.5M and Fredy Guarín departed Inter for Shanghai Greenland Shenhua at a cost of £9.75M.
Towards the end of the transfer window PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi (who was out of contract in the summer and linked with both Chelsea and Inter) signed for Hebei China Fortune to link up with ex-Arsenal striker Gervinho and Cameroon captain Stephane Mbia. Lavezzi signed a two-year contract reported to be worth £23.5M.
The high profile names weren’t just signed by Chinese Super League club’s though, as West Ham’s Nikica Jelavić joined second division side Beijin Renhe. This further signaled the financial might of China as China League One was the fourth highest spending league just behind Serie A and ahead of the Bundesliga.
The high transfer fees weren’t just confined to players coming in from overseas though. China’s League One side Tianjin Teda paid £7M for 26-year-old winger Sun Ke for example. This is because each club can only have a total of just 5 foreign players and must also include one player from the Asian Football Federation. So having the best Chinese talent is crucial and this is reflected in the prices that have exchanged hands.
China is booming and has been for some time. With investment now being made into football, it seems like that is now set to explode just as their economy has.
The database on Soccer Manager is powered by Soccer Wiki, a community driven database. The transfer window has closed in China and all of the Chinese leagues have been updated to include the most recent transfers. So why don’t you head over to Soccer Manager 2016 and start a new career managing in China?
