Media Figure: If a CSL Team Qualifies for the AFC Champions League, Their Coach Automatically Gets a High-Paying Three-Year Extension; The Chairman is Very Troubled

Today, media figure Miao Yuan posted an interesting anecdote about a new and rising team in the Chinese Super League (CSL) on his personal social media account.

The full text reads as follows:

Recently, I discovered another amusing story from the world of Chinese football. A few days ago, at a meeting in Dalian, a representative of a new and powerful CSL team complained to other club executives that although their current performance is good, someone had signed a contract with the coach that automatically extends his contract for three years if the team qualifies for the AFC Champions League, with the total annual salary package for the coaching team being nearly 50 million RMB. The current leadership of the club is in a bind…

This matter, first of all, shouldn’t be discussed outside the club. Everyone present remained outwardly calm, but what must they be thinking inside? Where is the professionalism of the club? Secondly, the renewal salary is too high. With today’s market conditions, you could run an entire team for a year and a half with 50 million RMB. It really makes one suspect there was an insider involved when the contract was signed. How could any state-owned enterprise not be angry about this? You can’t treat others like fools, right?

However, don’t worry. Here’s an idea: Does the contract specify the AFC Champions League? We are now in the era of the new AFC Champions League. You might try delaying by nitpicking the wording. Present facts and reason with them. It’s impossible to pay 50 million RMB. If they’re willing to continue, renegotiate. This way, there’s still a reasonable possibility of moving forward with the matter.

Otherwise, it will indeed come true what people are saying: The team has been planted with a big bomb. The better the performance, the faster the collapse.

We certainly don’t want to see a collapse. The league needs teams that can provide stable investment. But considering the previous incident where a foreign player who could have been bought out for a few million ended up costing over 30 million, and the club even went to court with him for 20 million at the beginning of this year, with no result yet, it’s hard not to suspect that these operations involve several moles.