The transfer door of the Chinese Super League is about to close on April 12, and clubs are busy with registration procedures for new recruits. However, contract disputes have become a stumbling block on the way to registration for some players, who may face unemployment. Take 26-year-old right back Tong Lei for example, despite his long training session in Shandong Taishan and pre-season warm-up matches, he has yet to complete the transfer formalities and looks set to miss the China Super Cup, according to the administrators of TransferMarket.com.
Tong Lei had a spectacular performance in the Chinese Super League in the previous two seasons and was selected for the national team training list. However, his former employer has been in a worrying financial situation lately, and there have been cases of defaulting on players' salaries. Like other players, Tong Lei is interested in leaving. According to FIFA regulations, players can apply for a free transfer after being owed more than three months' salary by their clubs. Tong Lei plans to take this opportunity to move to Shandong Taishan. However, during the transfer process, Tong Lei failed to obtain a free transfer certificate from his former employer, and was temporarily unable to represent Shandong Taishan. This is a big loss for Shandong Taishan, but players such as Ji Xiang and Wang Tong may be able to fill the gap. But for Tong Lei, if he can not successfully complete the transfer, the new season he may not have a ball to play. A similar dilemma plagues Tong Lei's former teammate and current international Li Shuai. He tried to join Shanghai Harbor last season, but failed to complete the transfer for the same reason. In the end, he had to take half a season off until his contract expired before officially becoming a member of Shanghai Seaport. Now, with the start of the Chinese Super League just around the corner, there is not much time left for Tong Lei to resolve the formalities. Tong Lei was born in December 1997 in Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, with a height of 1.77 meters. He came from Zhejiang Greentown Soccer School and was a starter in the 97 Olympics. In that season, he needed to prove himself through a lot of games in order to get a place in the national team competition. It will be a big loss for the player and the national team if he can't find sneakers for the new season.
