Barcelona Manager Luis Enrique mounted a defense of the Chinese Super League's "financial power" on Saturday, "sticking up" for players who have been accused of "taking the cash currently on offer in China," according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN.com. Chelsea's Oscar and La Liga side Villarreal's Alexandre Pato are among the players who have "made the move to Asia this month." Shanghai SIPG paid over £50M ($62.7M) for Oscar and is reportedly paying the Brazilian £400,000 ($502,000) per week. Chelsea coach Antonio Conte has said that "the Chinese market is a danger for all." However, Enrique does not share Conte's sentiments, saying, "It seems absolutely perfect to me that [players] are going to China. It's great if players can go to China and make a lot of money. It happens in all jobs. You, as journalists, also change jobs to earn more money and get together with your friends and they tell you, 'Great, you're a champion!' They don't say you are a money grabber or any of that. But if a player does the same he's called a traitor" (ESPN.com, 1/28).
