Long a football "backwater," China has "gone on a buying spree unprecedented in the history of the game," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. Chinese money, "of course, has been flowing into all sorts of sectors: technology, health care, retailing, you name it." And now it is football, "a move that follows Middle Eastern and Russian investments into the game." What differentiates China is "the speed and scale of the country’s new-found appetite" for all things football. Chinese companies have invested $1.7B in sports assets -- the vast majority football-related -- since the beginning of '15, according to Bloomberg data. As recently as five years ago, "that number was zero." Brazil-based sports lawyer Marcos Motta, who has worked on several player trades to China, said, "It’s insane. I have never seen anything like this before." Led by some of the country’s "richest men," including Dalian Wanda Group Co. Founder Wang Jianlin and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Chair Jack Ma, "Chinese businesses are at the table" for almost every football asset up for sale. In recent months, "a dizzying array of deals have roiled the industry" -- from signing football players and coaches to "Chinese investments in storied clubs and buyouts of sports-media businesses." Beijing-based consultant Shankai Sports CEO Feng Tao said, "There will be more acquisitions and of very famous teams." Chinese Super League clubs "outspent those from any other country this past winter," spending a combined $280M for European footballers. The dollars doled out to China-bound players and coaches "are infinitely greater than they could command elsewhere, according to Motta." He added that it is common for "top imports" to get €7M ($7.7M) or €8M ($8.8M), more than five times what players of a similar standard would get in Europe. The buying spree is not "limited to players and teams." A bidding war ended with a unit of China Media Capital paying $1.3B for a five-year contract to broadcast China’s national league game. That is "about 13 times the amount the contract was worth" in '15. La Liga Sales & Marketing General Dir Adolfo Bara said, "It’s a very unique moment. There’s so much money in China" (BLOOMBERG, 7/10).
