With the fall of golden dollar soccer, many Chinese Super League teams have fallen into operational difficulties. Wuhan Sanzhen, the previous Chinese Super League champions, made a public statement that investors will no longer inject money into the team. Wuhan Sanzhen decided to transfer the club at zero cost and provide the current training base to the new owner at no cost. The Hubei Sports Bureau took over Wuhan Sanzhen's club and made every effort to find a new investor. Although the situation of Wuhan Sanzhen is not optimistic, it seems that the club will not follow in the footsteps of Jiangsu Suning and completely withdraw from the professional soccer league.
Similarly, Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Beijing Guoan are in a debt crisis.In 2017, Sino Group took over the running of Beijing Guoan, right in the middle of the CSL's golden dollar era. Zhonghe Group, like Evergrande, Huaxia Happiness, Shenhua and other real estate background gold masters, invested heavily in Beijing Guoan, bringing in high-level foreign aid and bringing in former Benfica manager Schmidt. However, Sino Group did not keep investing. As the golden dollar era came to an end, Sino Group and its real estate enterprises suffered a cold winter. In order to alleviate the financial pressure, Zhonghe Group used the equity of Guoan FC as collateral and frequently borrowed from financial institutions. It was revealed that Guoan Club's debt surged to 3.2 billion yuan, and it was exposed for defaulting on wages many times, and even penalized by FIFA. Against this background, Sino Group was unable to continue to support the club. However, it seems to be only a matter of time before Sino Group withdraws from Beijing Guoan, which could become the second Chinese Super League champion team after Wuhan Sanzhen, or change ownership this summer. According to domestic media reports, JD.COM Group may replace Zhonghe Group as the new owner. Meanwhile, CITIC Group, which has been running Guoan for years, may also buy back its shares to help Guoan tide over its difficulties. Personally, I think Beijing Guoan, as the Chinese Super League champion and the capital city team, has immeasurable influence and commercial value. The addition of a new owner will undoubtedly help the team overcome its current difficulties, injecting a large amount of money to strengthen its lineup and strive to return to the top of the Chinese Super League. Zhonghe Group has been running Guoan for 6 years, but has left a huge debt behind, and its hasty departure is saddening.
