Chelsea Boss Conte Says ‘Chinese Football Is A Danger To All Football Teams

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes the
huge money being spent on players by Chinese
clubs is a “danger for all teams in the world”.
Blues midfielder Oscar, 25, is close to a £60m
move to Chinese Super League club Shanghai
SIPG in January and is expected to receive an
estimated £400,000 a week.
Conte said it would be “difficult” to manage a
player on such a high salary.
Chinese clubs spent £200m before the start of
the 2016 season.
The Chinese transfer record was broken three
times in 10 days, as Chelsea’s Brazil
midfielder Ramires was signed by Jiangsu
Suning for £25m, followed by Guangzhou
Evergrande Taobao buying Colombia striker
Jackson Martinez for £31m from Atletico
Madrid.
Jiangsu then paid Shakhtar Donetsk £38.4m
for Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira.
However, the fee for Teixeira was eclipsed by
the £46.1m paid by Shanghai SIPG for Zenit
St Petersburg’s Brazil forward Hulk during the
mid-season summer window.
The next Chinese transfer window opens on 1
January and closes on 28 February.
Arsenal midfielder Alexis Sanchez has been
linked with a reported £500,000-a-week
contract at Hebei China Fortune, managed by
former Manchester City boss Manuel
Pellegrini.
“The Chinese market is a danger for all teams
in the world, not only for Chelsea,” said Conte.
But speaking about the Premier League, he
added : “This league is fantastic, a great
opportunity [for players], a great honour and
we should be very proud we play in this
league.”
Conte refused to confirm Oscar’s move,
saying: “I don’t know exactly the amount, or
the situation. Now we have to wait – when it
is the moment you will know.”