As the wave of golden dollar soccer fades, the business situation of many Chinese Super League teams is worrying. Former Chinese Super League champions Wuhan Sanzhen recently officially announced that the club's investors have decided to stop injecting money into Wuhan Sanzhen. Wuhan Sanzhen has stated that it is willing to sell the club for zero transfer price and has generously offered its existing training base to the new owner for free. After Wuhan Sanzhen announced that it would stop injecting capital, the Hubei Provincial Sports Bureau intervened in a timely manner to take over the club and actively seek a new investor. For now, it seems that Wuhan Sanzhen will not make the same mistake as former Super League champions Jiangsu Suning, who were disbanded.
Beijing Guoan, also a Chinese Super League champion, is also facing severe debt difficulties. Since 2017, Sino Group has taken over the management of Beijing Guoan. In the golden dollar era, Zhonghe Group, similar to Guangzhou Evergrande, Hebei Huaxia Happiness, Shanghai Shenhua and other investors with real estate backgrounds, invested heavily in Beijing Guoan, introduced high-level foreign aid such as Augusto and Bieira, and hired manager Schmidt, who had led Benfica to a blowout in the Champions League. However, Sino Group has not continued to invest.
With the end of the Golden Dollar Era, Sino Group, just like its real estate enterprises, suffered an economic winter. In order to assist the group to tide over the difficult times, Zhonghe Group had to use the equity of Guoan Club as collateral and frequently seek financial support from financial institutions. It was revealed that in the case of continuous financing, Guoan Club's debt surged to 3.2 billion yuan, and the club was repeatedly reported to be in arrears, and even penalized by FIFA several times. It is understood that under the financing operation of Zhonghe Group, the debt of Beijing Guoan Club has reached 3.2 billion yuan. In such a difficult situation, Zhonghe Group is unable to provide financial support for the club anymore.
However, looking at the current situation, it seems like it is only a matter of time before Sino Group exits Beijing Guoan. This would make Beijing Guoan the second Chinese Super League (CSL) champion team after Wuhan Sanzhen, which may see a change of ownership this summer. According to the latest news from the domestic media, JD.COM Group, which sponsored Beijing Guoan's jersey badge this season, is expected to take over from Zhonghe Group as the new owner. In addition, CITIC Group, which has been deeply involved in Guoan for many years, may also buy back the club's shares to help Guoan through its financial difficulties.
Personally, I think that as a Chinese Super League champion and capital city team, Beijing Guoan's influence and commercial value is immeasurable. It should not be difficult to find a new owner. Whether JD.COM Group or CITIC Group takes over, it will help Beijing Guoan get through the immediate crisis, provide sufficient financial support, strengthen the team's lineup, and strive to win back the Chinese Super League title as soon as possible. Although Zhonghe Group has been running Guoan for six years, it left a huge debt of 3.2 billion yuan and is now leaving in a hurry.
