Guangzhou FC, China's most successful football club, has been denied permission to play professionally during the 2025 season due to financial problems.
The eight-time Chinese Super League (CSL) winners said they had been unable to pay off their debts and therefore did not meet the requirements of the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to participate in the 2025 season.
“To gain entry into the Pro League for the new season, the club is working hard to move forward,” a club statement said. “However, we regret that the funds raised were not sufficient to pay off due to the heavy historical debts and that access was ultimately not granted. We hereby express our sincere apologies to everyone who cares about and supports Guangzhou Football Club.”
Guangzhou was not named in a list of 49 teams that secured places in the CSL, China League One and China League Two for the 2025 season. Top-flight Cangzhou Mighty Lions and third-tier Hunan Billows were also denied entry.
The CFA said it will “follow up on clubs that have not obtained entry qualifications due to unpaid wages and debts and deal with them in accordance with the relevant regulations.”
Guangzhou was acquired by property developer the Evergrande Group in 2010, beginning a period of domestic dominance, winning eight CSL titles between 2011 and 2019 and the AFC Champions League in 2013 and 2015.
Formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande, the club led the CSL's transfer spending in the 2010s. They signed Brazilian international Paulinho from Tottenham Hotspur in 2015 and again from Barcelona in 2019, and paid a then CSL record fee of £25 million to sign Jackson Martinez from Atletico Madrid in 2016.
The club counts World Cup-winning coaches Marcello Lippi and Luiz Felipe Scolari and 2006 Ballon d'Or winner Fabio Cannavaro among their former managers.
However, parent company Evergrande fell into serious financial difficulties and was ordered into liquidation in January 2024 after accumulating more than $300 billion in debt.
Guangzhou has played in the second tier for the last two seasons after being relegated from the Super League in 2022.
(Zhong Zhi/Getty Images)
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