On January 24, according to Eastern Sports Daily, the immediate cause of the deep dissolution was largely due to the fact that general manager Ding Yong squandered a lot of money and had a hard time getting through access last season. Fortunately, Cruyff Jr. did the thinking of Caldecott.
In 2020, Chinese Super League side Tianjin Tianhai failed to achieve entry. After the club was dissolved, a large number of players came to SZF along with general manager Ding Yong. As a result, they signed 16 internal and 4 external players. At that time, even though many of the players came freely, each new recruit got a big contract. Later, these big contracts almost became a huge financial burden.
In 2020, the Shamrocks failed to do as well as expected due to the constraints of the season's special format and ended up in 13th place. To improve their performance, Caldecott, Achimpen, Vaccaro and Quintero rebuilt their foreign team before the 2021 season. This season, Shamrocks put up their best performance since returning to the Chinese Super League - sixth place - but there is still a long way to go before qualifying for the AFC Champions League.
"Honestly, luckily we didn't make it to the AFC Championship that year or we wouldn't have had the money to make it." The club executive said. It was from 2021 that the financial chain of Shenzhen Football's parent company, Caesar Group, broke. From 2022 onwards, Shamrocks are in a state of no pay. Not only are the current players on the team not paid, but players who have left the team are also owed wages.
Prior to the 2023 season, the two vice presidents of the Shamrock Club were still communicating with the foreigners near the end of the access. Communication was very difficult because the club still owed Selnas, Bifuma, Caldecott and others their salaries. "There were times when I wanted to give up, but I really didn't want to see the disappointment of the players, staff and fans, so I persisted." The club's vice president said:- "We were really relying on face-saving to stay in the Premier League, especially Caldecott, who never signed. Finally, he was signed by Cruyff Jr. (the original coach of Shamrocks)."
According to the agreement before this season, for those foreign aiders who are owed wages, SZF will be paid in five installments over two years, but the 2023 season is coming to an end and SZF has only paid one outstanding amount. Club executives said: "What about entering in 2024? If you swipe your face for help again, Cruyff Jr. might think we're fooling around." Wage arrears are the biggest burden on Shamrocks going forward.
Since Caesar Group stopped injecting capital into the club, SZFC has basically been relying on industrial subsidies to eke out a living in the past two years. Fortunately, the Shenzhen Municipality has a clear amount of subsidies for clubs at all levels. Club executives said: "Longgang District, in addition to the annual subsidy of 35 million yuan from the Shenzhen Municipality, gives us 25 million yuan each year, plus other commercial sponsorships. , our operating expenses in these two years are about 70 to 80 million yuan."
Last season, I opted for red-eye flights to away games - because the middle of the night was the cheapest fare - and lodging was staying at the Express Hotel. That said, the staff can't help but laugh at themselves, saying that the team basically lives upstairs in a small restaurant or an away bathhouse. "In Dalian, our team was having lunch in the hall while a wedding was going on next to us, and then all the money from the wedding was handed to our players' tables."
