Chinese football to impose stricter pay-cut policy, says CFA chief

BEIJING - Chinese Football Association (CFA) president Chen Xuyuan has vowed to introduce stricter measures to further reduce players' salaries in order to ensure the health of China's football leagues.

In an effort to curb excessive spending, the CFA had in January announced the introduction of a salary cap of 3.3 million U.S. dollars per year for overseas players, with Chinese players limited to annual earnings of 1.4 million U.S. dollars.

"The leagues can only operate well under reasonable financial conditions, and I am certain that we will work out measures by the end of this year to further curb spending and reduce the players' pay," Chen said, adding that the specific measures would soon be finalized.

"To maintain the health of the Chinese football leagues is a task I mentioned many times after I came to work in the CFA, as I don't think our leagues are sustainable," he said.

Chen warned that Chinese football leagues are facing ruin as a result of their clubs' overspending on players' pay.

"The major reason for their unsustainability is the overspending (of the clubs). This has to be changed," he said. "Otherwise, Chinese football leagues will not last long."

Should such a measure be implemented, it would represent the latest step aimed at reducing spending by Chinese clubs. In addition to January's salary cap, a 100 percent tax on transfer fees for overseas players was introduced in 2018.