Transfer news: China offers more than just money to Aussie players, says football agent

Aussie football agent Ante Alilovic claimed that footballers from Australia are being offered more than just money in China amid the growing list of international footballers in the Chinese Super League.

The Chinese Super League has made a serious statement in the past month after it lured top international football players from around the globe to play for big-spending Chinese clubs, including Aussie footballers. According to Alilovic, the man who orchestrated Tim Cahill’s move to Shanghai Shenhua, Australian internationals are being offered more than just hefty paychecks, but also the opportunity to go against other international football stars who have been suiting up in the Chinese football league.

“Wages are a major factor … if you earn $200,000 in Australia gross, and you can earn over $1 million net in China, well it’s a no-brainer," Alilovic said, reports SBS. “But then there's also the growing quality of the league. If you are a young Australian player hoping to play for the Socceroos at the World Cup, you won’t think twice.”

China has recently been the top destination of major football players like Chelsea’s Ramires, Roma’s Gervinho, and Atletico Madrid’s Jackson Martinez. It is also notable in the country’s recent football transactions that there is a growing list of Australian nationals.

Socceroo defender Trent Sainsbury and midfielder James Troisi have both received big-money offers from China to play for Jiangsu Suning and Liaoning Whowin. The two will compete against fellow Socceroo Matthew Spiranovic of Hangzhou Greentown and Ryan McGowan of Henan.

According to John Duerden of The Guardian, the culprit behind China’s feisty spending is non-other than the president of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, who is a big fan of the sport himself.

“The president was tired of the world’s most populous country continually failing at the world’s most popular game,” Duerden wrote. “Wealthy businessmen get involved, in part, to curry favor and craft links with the politicians and even perhaps, to make money.”

So far, the Chinese Super League’s total spending during the current transfer window amounts to £191.54 million (AU$392.8 million), second behind the English Premier League, according to transfermarkt, which tracks all the sports’ commercial deals. However, compared to EPL’s 714 total transfers in the winter window, CSL has only managed 234 transactions, proving China is the biggest spending country to date.

China’s expenses in the current transfer window may just be the tip of the iceberg as Chinese clubs still have 23 more days before the market closes. All of these are pointing at a flurry of transfer medals still to come in Australia and other part of the globe.