On June 10, a breaking news spread rapidly on the soha platform: Vietnamese star Nguyen Quang Hai announced his preference to return to his homeland by joining Hanoi Police instead of former hosts Hanoi FC, which is said to have a strong momentum this year and is regarded as a dark horse in the league, even surpassing Hanoi FC in terms of strength.
Of even greater concern is the fact that the Hanoi Police are aggressively bringing in international foreign players, especially those with strong reputations overseas, and are aiming to create a Vietnamese version of Evergrande's music department, sparking a soccer boom.
According to domestic media reports, Nguyen Quang Hai's monthly salary is as high as $30,000, setting a new salary record in Vietnamese soccer. However, the figure was apparently exaggerated. Vietnamese media reported that Nguyen Quang Hai earned at least VND100 million (about $30,000) a month. In fact, before leaving the country, his monthly salary was about VND150 million ($45,000). Despite the fact that the Vietnamese club had paid him 150 million monthly salary and Hanoi paid a transfer fee of 7 billion dong (about 2.12 million dollars), he rejected the deal for reasons likely related to his salary.
Nguyen Quang Hai, known as the "Vietnamese Messi", spent last season studying in France's Pau. Although the exact salary was not disclosed, sources said he earned the second highest income in Pau. However, in the French B League, he sat on the bench for long periods of time and was even assigned to the reserve team. Throughout the season, he made only two starts and scored one goal.
Vietnamese media reported that Nguyen Quang Hai earned no less than VND5 billion (about $1.51 million), or $120,000 a month, upon his return to the country. Unlike the national soccer team, most Vietnamese players have very valuable portrait rights, not only endorsing numerous products but also owning their own commercial brands. Nguyen Quang Hai's likeness rights top the list of all Vietnamese players, and their actual income is not lower than that of most Chinese Super League players. This is why Vietnamese players like to buy houses and luxury cars.
Currently, Hanoi Police are second in the Vietnamese league, just one point behind Thanh Hoa. The team has brought in a number of international players, including Duan Van Hau from Belgium, Ukrainian wife Vietnam U23 number one goalkeeper Bui Kim Dung Jr, national soccer team goalkeeper Ho Kim Cai from two matches, winger Vu Van Thanh, former Arsenal defender Elton Monteiro and former Liaoning Shenyang City Construction team striker Chu Mu. The team's goalkeeper is Czech-born Patrick Le Jiang.
Vietnamese media said that Hanoi police have not stopped their acquisition. More foreign players and Vietnamese internationals are expected to join the team. All three players are center-backs and the team's coach Flavio Cruz is still a bit upset that his team conceded 12 goals in 11 games. Luckily for them, they are only dark horses for promotion and will not be able to participate in the next AFC Champions League.
Once formed, the Vietnamese version of Guangzhou Evergrande will be born. Like Evergrande, this team has begun to bring in a large number of overseas players and improve the quality of their foreign aid. Their method is also to pay high salaries. This salary, may be the lowest price in the future history. The Vietnamese media is praising this team, and perhaps this team's PR costs are not low. In comparison, teams like Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh, which started with youth training, are not doing well.
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