I spoke to Sky Sports reporter Johnny Phillips last week for a piece he did on the increasing amount of Chinese investment directed at English football clubs in recent weeks. Editors being as they are, only a few selected highlights appeared in the finished article, but we covered a lot of ground, so here is an uncut version (completed shortly before the Wolves deal – the latest of the Chinese takeovers – was announced), touching on why rumours spread so quickly, West Brom’s possible owner and his plans for world domination, Sven spouting nonsense and why Wolves fans are probably sleeping better than Villa ones at the moment.
Where has this rise in Chinese takeovers come from?
There are several underlying trends. Firstly, as China’s double-digit growth over the past 30 years has started to slow, the government has been actively looking for new areas to drive the economy and the sports sector is one that has been actively targeted. For example, Beijing wants to the domestic sports industry to be worth $750 billion by 2025, making it the largest in the world by some margin.
A typical scene at Guangzhou Evergrande, winners of the past five Chinese Super League titles
Within the wider sports industry, the government, led by Chinese President – and football fan – Xi Jinping, has announced a long-term vision to overhaul the football industry from top to bottom, with the aim of making China a true global soccer power by 2050. More generally, Chinese companies are being encouraged to become more global in their outlook and diversify their businesses to become more competitive both domestically and overseas.