European soccer club deals signal renewed interest from China

In this cartoon, Wang Hui knocks on the ADO Den Haag logo, saying "We finished the acquisition, open the door!" while a Chinese youth in a club uniform says, "I like soccer, I'll join the team."

Chinese soccer has been making headlines recently, with China making the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup before being defeated 2-0 by Australia and Wanda Group head Wang Jianlin's purchase of a 20% stake in Atletico Madrid to become the club's second largest shareholder, as well as Beijing-based United Vansen Sports becoming the largest shareholder in Dutch soccer club ADO Den Haag, according to Hong Kong-based InMedia.

Xi Jinping, China's president is known to be a dedicated soccer fan and many in the country have puzzled over how 11 world-class players can't be found in a country with over 1.3 billion people. The country's professional football scene is dominated by Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC and Guangzhou R&F FC, the latter of which has an opportunity to qualify for the AFC Champions League this year for the first time. Beijing Guoan FC and Shandong Luneng Taishan FC are two strong sides, but their youth squads are showing little promise.

Soccer is about cultivating young talent, a concept that United Vansen Sports seems to be well aware of, as after managing to have the Italian Supercoppa hosted in Beijing in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and the French Trophee des Champions hosted in Beijing in 2014, the company has gone one further and bought the largest share in ADO Den Haag, a club known for their skill in cultivating young talent, which could potentially offer Chinese players the opportunity to train abroad.

Wang Hui, the chairman of United Vansen Sports, said the aim in buying the shares was to increase collaboration between the Netherlands and China on soccer, in an attempt to assist Chinese players. Although the club is not one of the biggest, Wang Hui said that he hopes to establish a training center for young Chinese players at the European club, which will make use of club's training techniques and coaching. The price of 98% of the Dutch club cost the company €8 million (US$9 million), small change for a Chinese big business.

Wang Jianlin, who heads property and entertainment conglomerate Wanda, is worth US$12 billion. Wanda Group is set to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and when it does Wang's net worth is likely to rocket past that of the CEO and founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Jack Ma to make him China's wealthiest person.

Wang has always been enthusiastic about investing in soccer. In 2012, eight-time championship winners Dalian Shide announced that they were withdrawing from the Chinese Super League. The chairman of Dalian Shide was Xu Ming, an aide to disgraced former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai. It is not known what became of Xu after Bo's fall from power, although there are rumors he had been "disappeared." Dalian Shide was formerly Dalian Wanda, a club for which Wang served as chairman. Dalian Wanda had an impressive record in the Chinese Jia-A League, the precursor to the Chinese Super League, winning the league in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

He is said to have attended every game while he was owner of Dalian Wanda and is even said to have acted as a mediator between the coach and players when conflict between them erupted. He is said to have butted heads on several occasions with Bo Xilai, then mayor of Dalian in the 1990s. In 2000, however, Wang sold his ownership of the club, signaling that interest in soccer in China appeared to be on the ebb. Time is testament to his prudence and more recently he has invested funds of 500 million yuan (US$80 million) in soccer training programs for young girls and boys.

Wang spent €45 million (US$51 million) on a 20% stake in Atletico Madrid, which should help the club through its financial difficulties, as it currently owes €200 million (US$226 million) in debt. Wang will also set up three soccer schools in China, importing the European coaching system to the country. Some people have said that the move is an attempt by Wang to put out feelers for the Spanish property market, while others have seen it as a challenge to Jack Ma, as Alibaba became a stockholder in Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC last year.

The efforts by Chinese enterprises are being supported by the Chinese government too, with increased soccer related lottery sales and other accompanying measures, which suggest both business leaders and the government are working towards achieving Xi Jinping's World Cup dream.