It is well known that running a Premier League team has huge overheads, just how big are they? The amount consumed varies from team to team every year. However, on May 7, a piece of news came out about the Beijing Guoan team that refreshed people's perception of running a Chinese Super League team.
On May 7, according to the official website of the Beijing Property Rights Exchange, Beijing Guoan Football Club Limited is seeking to transfer 36% of its equity. It is reported that previously Beijing Guoan was owned 64.00% by Zhonghe Land Limited and 36% by China CITIC Limited. It now appears that CITIC Group, which holds a 36% stake, may have lost interest in soccer. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the transfer of equity, Beijing Guoan has also been exposed to an execution message, which requires the payment of RMB 38.79 million.
As the Chinese Super League giants, why Beijing Guoan has been executed and equity transferred? Perhaps we can find the answer from Beijing Guoan's financial statements. According to the 2020 financial statement released by Beijing Guoan, last year the team earned RMB 103 million in revenue, RMB -1.221 billion in operating profit and RMB -1.209 billion in net profit. This means that not only did Beijing Guoan not make a single penny last year, but it lost RMB 1.209 billion. Could it be that the head of the Football Association, Boss Chen, would say that soccer is a public service and does not seek returns, and that this is a case of throwing money at the problem?
With a $1.2 billion loss, what is the value of the 36% stake Beijing Guoan plans to sell?
Loss is a fact, the transfer of equity is also a fact, Beijing Guoan 36% of the value of the stake has triggered the attention of many fans. According to the information provided by the Beijing Property Rights Exchange, the low price of the 36% stake in Beijing Guoan listed for transfer by CITIC Group is only 5.78 million RMB, which can be considered as blood money compared to the previous investment.
Selling shares in teams at low prices, why is this?In 2020, the Chinese Super League introduced the withdrawal of team names from de-commercialization, regulations that made the advertising benefits that only benefited the sponsors also disappeared. This has also left many Super League teams having to find sponsors again or discount their sponsorship fees, putting Super League teams in a difficult position.
Now Beijing Guoan shares of the low-priced listing may also give the FA a wake-up call, limit salary is right, but the implementation of the de-commercialization for the current no blood function of the Chinese Super League, it may be too early. This time the pace may be really big, perhaps the FA should hold off or introduce other measures to help these teams, otherwise the Super League bosses will have to be like the poster on a certain treasure that says: "Super League teams are lagging, help the bosses."
