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Chinese Super League Flexes 'Buying Power' Again With $56M Deal For Alex Teixeira

The "new-found buying power of the Chinese Super League was underlined on Friday" as the Asian football transfer record was broken "for the third time in just over the week" with the €50M ($56M) signing of Alex Teixeira, according to Mark Odell of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The 26-year-old Brazilian midfielder "was strongly linked with a move to the English Premier League, which has long been the world’s most watched and wealthiest club competition," with Liverpool seen as the frontrunners. Teixeira "confirmed there had been interest from England," but said, "Unfortunately, all the proposals that came from them were somewhat windy and did not contain anything concrete." His move to Jiangsu Suning from Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine "is the biggest move in world football so far this year." It comes as the CSL "is boosted by funds from a new TV rights deal." Chinese clubs "have had their biggest-spending winter transfer window" as they look to fulfill "the dream of President Xi Jinping to make the country a powerhouse of world football." The "latest spending spree in China is seen as a direct response" to Xi’s appeal to "propel the country up the standings in world football" (FT, 2/5).

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: REUTERS' Simon Jennings reported Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger said that European clubs "should be worried by Chinese football's display of economic might in the January transfer window." The CSL out-spent Europe's elite "with a series of high-profile signings that could still increase before the local transfer window closes on Feb. 26." When asked if Premier League clubs "should be concerned by China's willingness to compete for top players," Wenger was "emphatic." He said, "Yes, of course. Because China looks to have the financial power to move the whole league of Europe to China." Wenger questioned whether China "would sustain high levels of investment in football and predicted even bigger transfers next season." He said, "I don't know how deep the desire in China is, but if it's a very strong political desire, we should worry. In the summer, we will see transfer prices move up again. I am sure that soon the 100 million target will be easy to reach" (REUTERS, 2/5).

FOLLOW THE MONEY: In London, Ben Bloom wrote "money talks in the world of football and there is a new kid on the block when it comes to splashing the cash." Over the course of the past couple of weeks Jackson Martinez, Ramires and Teixeira have all moved to the CSL for a combined total of £90M ($130.5M). While big names joining clubs outside Europe "is nothing new, the key difference between the current crop heading to China and those packing their bags for places like America or the Middle East is that Martinez, Ramires and Teixeira are far from ageing stars." All three of them "had either been linked with or were playing for the best clubs in the Premier League before being tempted east by greater riches." Why "is it happening?" In "a nutshell: because the state wants it to." Never one to "turn a blind eye to a useful tool for propaganda," the "most powerful people in China have recently identified football as a major growth region" -- a way to show the country's sporting might on a truly global platform, "while also creating a relatively fresh industry to tap into China's consumer culture." The "key in all of this investment is the link between private corporations and the state." The £265M ($384.3M) private investment in Man City was state-backed, "as is the overwhelming majority of footballing spending in the country." Powerful people "have cash to burn, Xi has identified football as an area to spend it in and the result is a lot of money changing hands internationally" (TELEGRAPH, 2/5).

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