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12/22/2024 12:45:54 pm

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Chinese Super League News: Arsene Wenger Warns 'Danger' of Huge Salaries in China

Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger.

(Photo : Getty Images) Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned about the “danger” of the Chinese Super League’s huge salary offers to European players and how it could affect the English Premier League if it became the norm.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned about the "danger" of the Chinese Super League's huge salary offers to European players and how it could affect the English Premier League if it became the norm.

Talking to reporters in a press conference on Thursday, the 67-year-old French mentor said that CSL-sized salaries could eventually "become the benchmark" for the Premier League's top footballers, which could make the league financially unstable.

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"That's the danger, that the Chinese offers become the benchmark for Europe. You cannot compete with that," said Wenger, as per 90min. "But I still think that, when you're a footballer, the first thing is that you want to play against the best players in the best teams."

Wenger's remarks came in the aftermath of the CSL's new ruling of limiting the non-Asian foreign players of each club to only three from four during the previous years. A lot of deals were said to have fallen through because of the rule change, including the one that involved Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

Costa was reportedly offered a $37 million annual wage to join CSL club Tianjin Quanjian early in the ongoing winter transfer window. His representatives had already talked with the China squad, but Chelsea was unwilling to let go of the Spanish goalscorer.

The negotiations said to have affected Costa's play at the Stamford Bridge as he was not fielded in by Chelsea manager Antonio Conte during their game against Leicester City last Saturday.

Meanwhile, The Guardian indicated that Wenger has also "praised the growth of Chinese football" despite the concerns he spoke about. Wenger reportedly said that he is "happy" about football getting more and more popular in China and that he hopes India will join the revolution as well.

However, he said that creating a "football culture" will not be that easy as it took England's Premier League 150 years to reach its status right now.

"You do not create a top league just like that," Wenger said. "When you want to be a football player your first aspiration is to play in the best league with the best players."

"After that, you want to combine playing in the best league with the best players for the maximum amount of money. That combination is best in England right now," he added.

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