As the deadline for the new season's registration threshold approaches, many soccer clubs are scrambling to deal with the pressing issue of wage arrears. This is especially true for the Chinese Super League (CSL) powerhouses whose names appear on FIFA's transfer ban list, such as Wuhan Three Town, Cangzhou Lions, and Guangzhou of the Chinese Super League.
Among the many clubs, Guangzhou, which has won eight titles in the Chinese Super League, appears to be particularly active. In order to solve the problem of wage arrears, the whole team, from the boss to the players, mobilized, and even went so far as to launch a special sale of club equipment in an offline activity on December 17th.
Currently, the biggest wage arrears problem facing Guangzhou involves former coach Cannavaro, amounting to about 1 million euros. It would be a drop in the bucket to fill this gap by selling merchandise online and offline alone. The future of the Guangzhou team is so worrisome that even the Salvadoran coach and the three assistant coaches have the intention to go and are ready to leave Chongqing Tongliang Dragons.
Whether Guangzhou can pass the admission test of the Football Association and whether Cannavaro can agree to repay the salary arrears in installments has become the key to whether the team can debut in the new season. If the negotiations between the two sides break down, Guangzhou team is likely to be absent in the new season.
However, it will not be easy for Guangzhou to convince Cannavaro to repay his outstanding salary in installments. It has been several months since Cannavaro returned to Italy from the China outbreak to coach Serie A side Udinese, but he failed to secure a contract extension from the club at the end of the season.
Having received an annual salary of €12 million from Guangzhou in the past, Cannavaro is now facing an interruption in his income and is naturally reluctant to let go of Guangzhou's salary arrears so easily. Jokingly, with Christmas just a week away, perhaps Cannavaro is looking forward to the payment of his salary arrears by Guangzhou as a way of celebrating this Western holiday!
