With Zheng Zhi officially announced as Guangzhou's executive head coach and player, the clock ticked back to December 9 in Beijing, where a surprise general meeting of all players followed. At the meeting, the club's senior management made a solemn promise that the issue of salary arrears to the players would be resolved, and expected the players to do their utmost to ensure that Guangzhou could retain its qualification for the Chinese Super League.
The following key messages were articulated by the executives in the meeting:
First, it was made clear that the players' salary arrears would be paid unconditionally, and a supplementary agreement was signed with the players to ensure that the salaries were paid;
Secondly, the team was motivated to overcome all the difficulties, insist on hard training, and finish this season's tournament with a fighting attitude to preserve Guangzhou's qualification for the Chinese Super League, to continue the glory of Guangzhou's eight soccer crowns, and to fight one more time for the next season's Chinese Super League;
Finally, the executives hope to use the team's combined efforts to prevent a repeat of the 2020 season when the championship team bowed out of the tournament and to ensure the team's stability.
