China-Based Investors Have Been on a Sports Spending Spree in Europe

Consortia from China have spent over $2.4bn to buy stakes in 23 European soccer clubs

Author:: TheStreet Staff
Publish date:: Jun 13, 2017 9:50 AM EDT

China could simply pay out to host the World Cup, but the Middle Kingdom is a long way from winning one. Hell, it can't even qualify.

China is, however, winning the soccer World Cup of investment. Over the last three years, Chinese companies and individuals have shelled out €2.15 billion ($2.4 billion) on stakes in soccer clubs, buying across Europe's major leagues.

The United States is the next-largest source nation, at €313 million ($351 million), but China's tally is 7x that amount, according to fresh analysis of the topic by SportsLinking, a division of cross-border mergers and acquisitions adviser ThinkingLinking.

In fact, China's total was more than the other 40 nations tracked by the company. China has burst on the scene essentially from nowhere since President Xi Jinping set a goal in 2011 for the country to win the World Cup. The National Development & Reform Commission in 2016 targeted making China a "world football superpower" by 2050.

Xi, an ardent fan himself of the football you play with your feet, is desperate to see China do well. A handful of Chinese players have already made it to the big leagues in Europe, led by the defender Sun Jihai. Sun made a name for himself at Manchester City, and was the first Chinese player to score in England's Premier League.

But the buyouts often stem from a personal desire to buy into soccer, the leading televised sport in Asia, by Chinese tycoons. Their sudden emergence on the world stage does, however, mesh with Beijing's wish for China to expand its overseas investments.

"China just decided to do it - both at the government and company level," Mark Dixon, ThinkingLinking's "chief thinking officer," says. "It's the result of the country's sheer ambition to become a major player in this field globally and to bring home the know-how and kudos from each of these wins."

This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.