Brazilian international midfielder Oscar arrives at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, after agreeing to join China super league football club Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea in Shanghai, China, 2 January – Reuters

Reuters: China’s top sports governing body announced plans on Thursday to cap the spending of its leading soccer clubs, accusing them of “burning money” to enlist foreign players while neglecting development of young talent at home.

The enormous spending power of Chinese Super League clubs has alarmed administrators in the European game with Arsene Wenger, of Arsenal, and Chelsea’s Antonio Conte among those managers expressing concerns about players being lured away from the Premier League by the riches on offer.

An unnamed spokesperson from China’s General Administration of Sport described the excess of some Chinese clubs as “a grave phenomenon” in a question and answer session on the organisation’s official website on Thursday.

The rebuke to the clubs from the government agency responsible for sports in China comes after a series of record-breaking signings over the past year with Chinese companies cashing in on the swiftly-growing sports sector.

Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG bought Brazilian midfielder Oscar from Chelsea for 60 million euros ($63 million) while their rivals Shanghai Shenhua signed Argentine striker Carlos Tevez for a reported 84 million euros.

But the rapid development of soccer in China has drawn the attention of society to some problems, said the spokesperson.

They included “large scale overseas acquisitions, the grave phenomenon of clubs burning money, salaries that are too high for foreign players, not attaching importance to youth training, and only emphasising short-term achievements and neglecting long-term development.”

The Administration, he added, would “strengthen examination and supervision of clubs’ financial affairs, progressively control clubs’ expenditures on first team players and ensure favourable financial conditions.”

It would also “set a cap for clubs’ expenditures for buying players, and inhibit unreasonable investment.”

The Administration would, he added, “combat signing bonuses, shadow contracts, and other violations, and sternly handle clubs, players or brokers that demand or seek signing bonuses.”

Chelsea’s Mikel joins China gold rush with move to Tianjin

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Reuters: Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel has become the latest big name player to join the Chinese Super League gold rush after leaving Chelsea for Tianjin Teda.

Mikel, who failed to make a single appearance for Antonio Conte’s side this season, had a medical in the port city some 130 kilometres from Beijing on Thursday and the Asian Football Confederation confirmed the deal on Friday.

The 29-year-old, who spent more than a decade at Stamford Bridge, was given a free transfer by the London club and will earn 140,000 pounds ($173,432) a week in China, according to local media reports.

After joining Chelsea in 2006, Mikel was part of a squad that won a Champions League crown, two Premier League titles and four FA Cups.

Chinese clubs have made several high-profile signings over the last month with Argentine striker Carlos Tevez moving to Shanghai Shenhua for a reported 84 million euros ($87.65 million).

Less than a week later, Brazilian midfielder Oscar joined local rivals Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea in a deal believed to be worth 60 million euros.

At the end of December, Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent said the World Player of the Year had turned down the chance to leave Real Madrid for an unnamed Chinese club for a transfer fee of 300 million euros ($315.24 million).

Amid the spending spree, the country’s General Administration of Sport described the excess of some Chinese clubs as “a grave phenomenon” on Thursday.

Mikel joins Serbia midfielder Nemanja Gudelj, who moved to Tianjin from Dutch club Ajax on Thursday.