China's government has told the country's football clubs to curb their spending in the wake of big-money moves for Oscar and Carlos Tevez.
Former Manchester United striker Tevez has become the world's highest-paid footballer, on around £615,000 a week, after moving to Shanghai Shenhua.
Shanghai SIPG signed Oscar from Chelsea for £60m and are reportedly paying him in excess of £500,000 a week.
A state sports spokesman vowed action to put the brakes on "irrational investment" and said China will seek to rein in high-priced transfers and keep player salaries "reasonable".
Chinese Super League clubs, encouraged by President Xi Jinping's drive to turn China into a football power, have broken the Asian transfer record five times in less than a year.
Cristiano Ronaldo's agent said the Ballon D'Or winner had turned down a world-record £257m bid from China.
Antonio Conte, manager of Oscar's former club Chelsea, has called the Chinese market a "danger for all teams in the world".
The government announcement omitted any figures when it referred to "limits" on salaries and transfer fees.