Chongqing Lifan deny reports of Iniesta switch

World
Europe

00:36

Spain star Andres Iniesta is not on his way to the Chinese Super League with Chongqing Lifan, according to a statement released by the club.

Chongqing Lifan denied reports of a potential move for the Barcelona legend, after claiming the salary he would demand would distort the market for footballers in China.

In a post on social media, Lifan President Jiang Lizhang said the Spanish World Cup winner could be involved with the team in developing marketing and youth football, but no deal has been struck for him to play.

In 2017, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) put in place a series of measures to prevent astronomical sums of money being spent on foreign stars from distorting the development of domestic soccer.

Clubs now face a 100 percent tax on signing overseas players, effectively doubling transfer fees, in a bid to control spending on foreign talent.

The CFA also brought in player caps in January 2017, decreeing that only three foreign players plus one Asian confederation player could be named in a match squad.

A spokesperson for the General Administration of Sport of China said authorities would move to prevent "irrational investment."

File of Andres Iniesta after the spanish football league La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. /VCG Photo

In the 2016/2017 transfer window, the football world was rocked by spending in the CSL, with clubs forking out more than 420 million US dollars on players.

Argentinian star Carlos Tevez was signed by Shanghai Shenhua in January 2017 on a contract worth a reported 790,000 US dollars per week, and incurred the wrath of CSL fans after a series of disappointing appearances.

Tevez himself described his time in China as a "holiday," before returning to his boyhood club Boca Juniors in January this year.

Chongqing have made it clear, the 33-year-old would inflate the market if he was to sign for them.

Previously, Spanish reports had indicated that Iniesta was close to agreeing a three-year deal with Chongqing, worth 81 million euros (97 million US dollars).

Iniesta is retiring from Barcelona at the end of the season after joining as a 13-year-old, and has gone on to win nine La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns, as well as the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.