Since Li Tie's case, many people involved have been taken away for investigation, not least local FA officials, coaches and international players. The Chinese Super League is also in a mess. The Super League title was hotly contested, but the referees suddenly stole the show. Even if it was proved to be a fair call, it has caused conspiracy theories to be hotly debated.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) recently issued a final notice to clubs to resolve the issue of salary arrears by December 31 or face relegation and points deduction. Guangzhou are almost a lock for a relegation spot, while Shanghai Shenhua have revealed that many of their players owe wages for more than two years and are likely to be relegated straight away, with Guangzhou being the direct beneficiaries.
At this time, media person Ran Xiongfei once again exposed some dark secrets of Chinese soccer. If it is thoroughly investigated, it will definitely be a big trouble. He said that some people privately advised him to stop talking about it and not to expose these dark stories, but he thinks that the current situation of Chinese soccer can no longer be covered up.
Ran Xiongfei pointed out that more than a decade ago, some players chose to pay for connections in order to get into the national soccer team in order to be gold-plated. The craziest time before about 2008 was 2005/06, when the actual price of international qualification was 250,000 dollars. In the era of gold dollar soccer, this sort of thing peaked. The price of buying and selling international qualification was $5 million. in 2018, international wages reached $10 million, and with a 20% fluctuation, that's at least $12 million. Taking half a year's salary to run international qualification is profitable. And, he said, the level of Chinese players varies a lot depending on someone's support.
The price of buying international status has risen by 1,900% over the years, which is an exaggeration. The reason for the rise in international players' wages is based solely on this model of money grabbing. Perhaps in their eyes, the so-called "investment" is worth it. Apart from some international players who are paid well for genuine material, many of those who enter the national soccer team illegally are obviously mixed, but they can still enjoy a fairly comfortable life, and luxury limousines and beautiful women are not far behind.
The purpose of purchasing international status is to increase wages; after all, international status is very different from that of a regular player. With the national team, turning up can get you a high salary from the Giants, which at the time was not capped, so many saw it as a springboard to riches, and could play anyway, in order to skyrocket their wages and achieve a high income.
With the in-depth investigation of Li Tie's case, the dark secrets of Chinese soccer will surely be revealed. Regardless of whether the information revealed by these media sources is true or not, the public wants a thorough investigation.
There are many inspiring stories in soccer that have nothing to do with money. For example, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal had a long battle with cancer and still managed to lead the Dutch team to an undefeated record in the World Cup; Morocco's top star, Ziyech, played for the national team for more than seven years and led the Moroccan team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup; and in order to help the Guangzhou team to avoid relegation, Zheng Zhi became the head coach again with the lowest income. Although he led the team to win only one game, it had nothing to do with money. Therefore, Chinese soccer needs more positive energy, and more people with heart need to do more of the right things.
