Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that the only appeal Chinese Super League has on high-profile players is the amount of money on offer.
On Friday, Chelsea confirmed that midfielder Oscar had signed for Shanghai SIPG for £60 million. During his time with the club, the 25-year-old will reportedly earn £400,000-a-week.
Furthermore, it is understood that Shanghai Shenhua are offering Boca Juniors forward Carlos Tevez a world-record salary if he joins the club.
However, for Klopp, any big-name player that joins the Chinese Super League is doing so more for the money rather than wanting to play in the country.
"You know that a few clubs in the rest of Europe think similar things about England!" he said. "The money in England could bring the best players to England.
"What can I say? In most parts of the world, it's a free world and we can make our own decisions. If a player decides to go there [China], usually it's in another part of your career.
"I think in this moment it's not a league where you actually want to play, but the only way to bring the players there is the money. If a player decides for himself then you have no real weapons to hold him here. That's how it is. I think in nearly all big European leagues, you can earn a lot of money and it should be enough at the end, especially for the top players."
When asked if he would consider coaching in China, Klopp made it clear that he would never do so.
"But I have no idea why people make decisions like this. For me, it's no option because I work a lot but I have kind of a private life and I like to have a surrounding which I'm kind of used to,” he said. "I'm a very open person and maybe for a holiday I would [go there], but for me it's absolutely no option to go to China.
"How I said, [it is] individuals making different decisions and I don't know if we should say it's kind of a danger or whatever, but it's another opportunity for players and hopefully they can be happy there and everything is good.
"I think all generations following Oscar's family are happy about this decision! No money worries anymore."
