The transfer of Nicolas Anelka to Shanghai Shenhua in January will bring together a mercurial owner and a mercurial player. Its been an up and down ride for fans with Zun Jun who made his money out of the Warrior Warcraft game but then had to conduct a fire sale of players when he lost the franchise in 2009.
The transfer of Nicolas Anelka to Shanghai Shenhua in January will bring together a mercurial owner and a mercurial player. Its been an up and down ride for fans with Zun Jun who made his money out of the Warrior Warcraft game but then had to conduct a fire sale of players when he lost the franchise in 2009.
Quite where the money has come from to hire the expensive Anelka is far from clear but local media are suggesting that there has been a big injection of money from a government-owned company. This could suggest that the Chinese authorities are changing their attitude towards a sport that has been riddled with corruption scandals and dogged by under performance.
At one time players headed to the States towards the end of their careers. Could the 32-year old Anelka be setting a new trend? Simon Chadwick of Coventry University does not think that the transfer signals a concerted attempt by Chinese club owners to import players from abroad.
The 16 China Super League clubs have invested a combined $316m in the league this year according to the Chinese media. However, Professor Chadwick told the Financial Times, ‘There is a turnover of owners who buy clubs as a plaything, sign players on big salaries and then get bored or are attracted by something else. This transfer looks like a case of conspicuous consumption.’
The club would not comment on Anelka’s salary other than to say that he would get paid more than he had received at the Bridge. With his brother acting as agent, Anelka has brought off a series of lucrative transfers. Shanghai Shenhua will be his ninth club.
When Real Madrid signed him in 1999 the fee of £22.3m was a record at the time. He had built up an aggregate transfer cost of just under £90m before his latest move.