CITIC Group, the majority shareholder of Chinese Super League (CSL) powerhouse Beijing Guoan, has turned over its Czech team Lavia to wealthy businessman Pavel Tikach in a deal worth a whopping RMB 640 million, according to Sport.cz. Back in 2018, when gold-dollar soccer was in full swing, CITIC Group had quietly acquired a majority stake in Slavia Prague FC, making it Beijing Guoan's overseas base. With CITIC's support, Slavia Prague not only survived the economic downturn, but also put CITIC Group on the history stage.
The Zhonghe Group, which took over Beijing Guoan, did not lead the team to make a qualitative leap on the cusp of gold dollar soccer. In recent years, the real estate industry has suffered a cold spell, and Zhonghe Group even mortgaged Guoan's shares to banks for loans in order to ease its capital chain. This move has led to the Guoan club being heavily indebted, and was even once banned by FIFA. In the new season, the instability of Guoan's foreign aid lineup triggered concerns, as reported by Croatian media hrsport, Daburo, who was rented to Latvia last season, expressed strong reluctance to return to Guoan.
It is worth mentioning that Dabrow had performed well and scored efficiently at Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb before joining Guoan. It is reported that his agent is actively operating in the hope that he can return to European competition, and is expected to return to the Croatian team in the winter transfer window.
In addition, Brazilian midfielder De Souza, who joined Guoan from the Turkish league last year, is out for the season due to injury, and Turkish media ajansspor has revealed that De Souza is about to join Turkish super club Istanbul and has already flown to Turkey to prepare for his signing. It is worth mentioning that the ownership of China's only overseas player Wu Shaocong is also owned by Istanbul, and he is currently on loan to Young United FC of the Turkish First Division. If Wu Shao Cong performs well during his loan, he is expected to be recalled by Istanbul, and he and De Sousa may play together next season.
Beijing Guoan will depart for Portugal next month on the 9th to prepare for the upcoming season. Guoan manager Luis Suarez will be tasked with the responsibility of selecting a new foreign aid. After taking over Guoan, Soares led the team to achieve good results. In the new season, the Portuguese coach can introduce new blood for Guoan and bring surprises, people look forward to.
