Chinese clubs have shown their superiority at least financially by spending £331m during the country’s winter transfer window, outstripping the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and others.
The country’s winter window closed on Tuesday, with the 16 Chinese Super League clubs passing the £215m spent by England’s 20 top-tier teams in January.
Oscar’s move to Shanghai SIPG for about £60m and Shanghai Shenhua’s reported £40m deal for Carlos Tevez came days before spending caps were announced.
Limits on the number foreign players in squads are in place for the new season.
Only three non-Chinese players can be fielded in a fixture when the season starts in March, a move the country’s football association hopes will combat “irrational” spending.
But the total spend for the winter window – which ran from 1 January to 28 February – was a record for the Super League, exceeding the 2016 window by £36m.