Chapter 448: Chapter 447: Two More People Sign Up Due to Temperature Difference
"Chinese players can no longer command high transfer fees, all because of Sun Jihai!"
As the largest soccer periodical in the country, when Soccer News made such a statement, many domestically fans with rather simplistic thinking were immediately led astray.
Especially when compared to Fan Zhiyi and Yang Chen.
But in fact, not to mention that these three scenarios are completely different, even if they were the same... Aren’t Fan Zhiyi and Yang Chen currently playing in a lower league?
So what if Sun Jihai moved to play in a lower league too?
Facing immense public pressure, Sun Jihai’s family was the first to be unable to bear it.
Some relatives and friends even called him, berating him as a traitor to the country, saying his actions led to all Chinese players having no market value in the future.
This was the loss of state-owned assets!
Sun Jihai found it difficult to explain these issues to everyone, and even he himself might not have been able to make sense of it all.
It wasn’t until Jiang Yunzhu, the President + Editor-in-Chief of Ball Report, involved in Sun Jihai’s transfer saga, published a headline article "How Long Will This Deception Continue? Revealing the Value of Chinese Players Through Sun Jihai’s Transfer to Manchester City!"
"All along, we have misjudged the value of Chinese players. First, we need to establish that transfer fees are purely the revenue of the club, and they have no direct benefit to the players themselves."
"In the early days, players’ transfer fees were generally not high, but due to the exchange rate issues between foreign currencies and our own, the revenue our clubs made off selling players was quite substantial."
"However, with the development of the European football economy and the shift of the world’s football center from Italy to Spain and England, players’ transfer fees entered a stage of rapid inflation. Vieri, Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane, Buffon, Mendieta, Veron, and others."
"Some domestic clubs naturally calculated this inflation in a dreamlike manner onto their own players. For instance, previously if my top player sold for a hundred thousand euros, and your top player sold for a million euros."
"Now, if your top player is seventy million euros, then my top player, in proportion, should be seven million euros. Even considering that our players can perform well in the Premier League and Bundesliga, playing head to head with their statistic-matched players, their price should be around fifteen to twenty million euros."
"So when foreign clubs come to buy our players, they start talking about three to five million euros."
"But actually? The cheapest players back then were a hundred thousand euros, and today, the cheapest are still a hundred thousand euros. Even Sporting Lisbon has several starters who were brought in for less than a hundred thousand euros."
"The upper limit of players’ prices has indeed soared a lot, but the lower limit has not risen because of it. If a club uses the lower limit players to gauge the price increase of upper limit players, the only outcome is to let the whole world know that the value of Chinese players is inflated."
"Over time, in the top five leagues, no team will want Chinese players anymore. A player valued at over three million is considered to have a high cost-performance ratio among those who haven’t proven themselves in top European leagues, but it’s certainly not considered too low a price."
"I know someone will say that there are talented players from South America who directly sell for twenty million, like Ronaldinho and Saviola. But those are talents. Subtract ten years from Sun Jihai’s age, and I think Manchester City might be willing to spend five to ten million euros for him."
"Don’t be led by the nose by some greedy domestic football clubs, and don’t close the channel for Chinese players to join European football because of this."
"Only when more Chinese players who are both inexpensive and effective like Wu Xudong appear in the top five leagues can Chinese players truly create a brand effect. Only then will our country’s future young players become more valuable and have the chance to develop towards the direction of ’Made in China, assured quality’, thus cultivating superstar talents with astronomical fees."
"This is the path Brazil has been on for decades; it’s impossible for us to overtake it in just a few years. Being eager for quick success and instant benefits, Chinese football is bound to take a big fall sooner or later!"
Jiang Yunzhu’s headline article attracted many fans; some saw the light, others woke up from their dreams, and still others scoffed.
The major clubs were definitely unhappy, some even publicly declared they would forever refuse to work with Ball Report, intending to strip Ball Report of all its Chinese football league coverage!
Subsequently, Manchester City Football Club and Sporting Lisbon announced they would join Ball Report.
Ball Report’s domestic registrations surged.
In a short period of time, the blockade of "Football Emperor" by various major domestic clubs seemed to have no effect.
Perhaps it could be somewhat effective over a long time.
But what if more foreign clubs joined "Football Emperor"?
For football fans, would the allure of Real Madrid be greater, or that of some domestic club?
...
On February 17th, in the 23rd round of the Primeira Liga,
Sporting Lisbon thrashed Farense four to one, maintaining their lead at the top of the table.
But... less than a month after his injury recovery, Bubble Matt— ahem, Matthaus was injured again.
After the game, the media all said, "It seems like the fuel tank of this old German car, Matthaus, is finally running out."
This was a compliment to Matthaus, as he would officially be 41 in just one month’s time!
You can’t imagine a player of such advanced age still maintaining a level fit for a starting midfielder in the top five leagues.
Some people seven years his junior have been sitting on Sporting Lisbon’s bench for a long time without playing.
Deschamps: Who are you slandering?
Some people ten years younger than him have already been abandoned by the big clubs and can only play as regulars in lower leagues.
Guardiola: Is that my fault now? Am I also to blame for Gerrard’s slip?
This also directly led to the media’s pessimism about Sporting Lisbon’s next match.
Because next up, is the Champions League!
"Matthaus confirmed out against Arsenal! Sporting Lisbon’s already slim chances of winning drop another 10 percent!"
"Both teams’ marquee players missing the match, Wenger expresses regret!"
"English and French troops storm into Lisbon! Arsenal flies to Lisbon, ready for full-scale battle!"
"Highbury Express Henry: Looking forward to scoring at Estádio Alvalade!"
"Ice Prince Bergkamp: Taking three points from Lisbon doesn’t seem tough!"
"Mop-top Ljungberg: Losing Matthaus is a huge blow for Sporting Lisbon, beating Barça proves they’re a good opponent!"
The Gunners, Arsenal, arrive at Estádio Alvalade.
Professor Wenger, elegant under the flashlights of the press, even spoke of some secrets of the winter transfer window: "The winter window has ended, and we did indeed inquire if Sporting Lisbon was willing to trade Deng Kai."
Reporter: "Really? You want Deng Kai?"
