Records galore in Chinese transfers

Shanghai - Conte says Chinese market is a danger for all

For a second successive winter transfer window, the Chinese Super League has upset the established world soccer order with the spending power and ambition of its biggest clubs.
 It started in December as Shanghai SIPG agreed to pay $60 million to Chelsea for Brazil's Oscar in a move that prompted Antonio Conte, coach of the Premier League club, to warn about the challenge from the east.
 "The Chinese market is a danger for all," Conte said. "Not only for Chelsea, but all the teams in the world. But I think we must concentrate on our work, not think that in China there is a lot of money and they can arrive to take the players there."   It continued in January with Shanghai Shenhua reportedly making Argentina's Carlos Tevez the highest-paid player in the world, and it finally closed on Feb. 28, three days before the start of the 2017 Chinese Super League season.
 FC Cologne Sporting Director Jorg Schamdtke expressed some relief, telling the Bild newspaper: "The madness will be over soon." The German club turned down big money offers for star striker Anthony Modeste from Tianjin Quanjian. "We've said 'no' once and we did not want to give because of a next offer."
 Tianjin, newly-promoted to the Chinese top tier, has been one of the most active clubs in the transfer market and linked with moves for Chelsea's Diego Costa, Wayne Rooney of Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
 Under coach Fabio Cannavaro, Italy's 2006 World Cup winning captain, Tianjin spent more than $20 million on Belgian international midfielder Axel Witsel, who turned down Italian giant Juventus to join former Brazilian and AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato at the Chinese club.   "It was a very difficult decision because on one hand there was a great team and a top club like Juventus," Witsel said in January. 'But on the other there was a crucial offer for my family that I couldn't turn down."
 Juventus lost Brazilian striker Hernanes to Hebei. Coached by former Real Madrid and Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini, Hebei spent just over $100 million in the transfer window.  Much of that went on local players. Its most expensive acquisition was the reported $22 million spent on Zheng Chengdong from Beijing Guoan. Hebei signed three other Chinese players for more than $10 million.  With new rules introduced in January that restrict clubs to using just three foreign players during any one league game, the teams that compete at the top are now chasing the best Chinese talent - and that is driving up prices domestically.