Arsene Wenger says Chinese football may become threat to Premier League
Saturday 24 December 2016 08:29, UK
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted he was surprised by Oscar's £60m move from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG.
The Brazilian midfielder has been out of favour at Stamford Bridge since the arrival of new boss Antonio Conte, starting just five Premier League games.
But on Friday morning Chelsea and SPIG confirmed that the clubs had agreed a deal for the 25-year-old to move, with Sky sources understanding the fee to be £60m. That would mean the Blues make a profit of around £41m on the player.
Wenger says the money being ploughed into Chinese football is potentially a threat to the Premier League, which has been the most powerful financial force in the market for many years.
"Yes, it's a surprise, it's a distortion," said Wenger. "Basically when you're a football player you want to combine the quality of the competition with the quantity of your wages.
"It's a surprise to me, but when I was in Japan, we had many Brazilian players. At the moment I think Oscar moves because he doesn't play in the Premier League. China gives him that opportunity as well... they invest a lot of money at the moment.
"Will it be a future problem for the Premier League? It could become [one]."
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says English concerns about Chinese financial clout will get little sympathy around the rest of Europe.
"You know that the rest of Europe thinks the same thing about England," said Klopp, who does not see the Chinese as a concern.
"If a player decides to go there, usually it's in another part of your career," he said.
"I think in this moment it's not a league you want to play - the only way to get players to go there is the money. In all the big European leagues you can earn a lot of money, it should be enough.
"It's not an option for me. Maybe for a holiday but it's absolutely no option for me. I don't think we should say it's a danger, it's another opportunity."
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