By Andrew Warshaw
January 18 – Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has resisted the temptation to become the latest big-name international to be lured by China’s riches amid a mixed response to the country’s decision to tighten the rules over the number of overseas players permitted per club.
The Ivorian has reportedly turned his back on a £430,000-a-week offer – the second time he has been approached.
Toure has been a regular for City since he was recalled in November but has not been given any guarantees beyond next summer.
Oscar and John Mikel Obi both left Chelsea to move to China earlier this month while former Manchester United and Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez reportedly became the world’s highest-paid player when joined Shanghai Shenhua. Meanwhile Tianjin Quanjian recently signed Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel for a monstrous salary of more than £15 million a year despite interest from Juventus.
But now that the Chinese Super League has reduced number of foreigners allowed to play, with a maximum of three permitted to take the field per game when the new season starts in March, interest could soon start cooling especially if a threatened salary cap is enforced.
Clubs will still be able to register five foreign players on their overall rosters but only three can play at the same time in a move designed to stop overloading squads with international imports. But Shanghai SIPG coach Andre Villas-Boas has questioned the timing.
“This decision should have been made after the season, or with a certain buffer,” the Portuguese coach told reporters during a training camp in Qatar. “Such a huge change shouldn’t be announced about a month before the new season.
“Most of the clubs’ team-building plans have been in accordance with the previous rules. That’s when everyone gets caught off guard,” added the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager.
Su Yuhui, president of newly-promoted Tianjin Quanjian, said the new quotas would have a negative impact on the standard of the game. “And it will disarray many club’s pre-season arrangements, and even cause economic losses,” Su told Tianjin Sports TV.
But the Chinese spending has drive prompted fierce criticism from officials and local media, with Xinhua declaring earlier this month that clubs were “burning money” on overpaid foreign stars whilst neglecting the development of domestic talent.
Teams will now have to include two domestic players born in or after 1994 in their matchday squads, of whom one will have to start.
“I know that the Chinese Football Association introduced this new deal to vigorously improve the level of local young players, but it will also lead to high prices for young players,” Villas-Boas warned.
But Shandong Luneng’s German coach Felix Magath disagreed.
“The new policy will offer more opportunities for the Chinese local talent, as well reduce the team’s dependency on star foreign players,” the former Bayern Munich manager told Xinhua. “Maybe the effects will not be seen in short term, but it will absolutely benefit the national team.”
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