THE CHINESE SUPER League (CSL) has recently caught the attention of football fans on this side of the world after a number of eye-watering transfers over the past year.
Relatively big names in the game such as Jackson Martinez (€38 million), Gervinho (€18m), Ramires (€29m), Graziano Pelle (€15m) and Hulk (€58m) have opted to make the move to Asia from Europe and collect astronomical sums of money each week.
It has been reported that Italian international Pelle has become the sixth-highest paid player in the world after joining Shandong Luneng from Southampton as gets €350,000 per-week.
And in the last January transfer window, China topped the Premier League (€151m) by splashing €247m on new acquisitions.
In light of those developments, Sky Sports has decided to jump on the bandwagon and agree a three-year deal for the rights to show live coverage of the CLS from this weekend.
The first game will be broadcast on Saturday, when Obafemi Martins’ Shanghai Greenland face Jiangsu Suning, who have Brazilian pair Ramires and Alex Teixeira on their books.
Then on Sunday, Shanghai SIPG, who are managed by Sven-Goran Eriksson, meet Guangzhou R&F.
“This is more great news for football fans as we get set for our biggest ever season on Sky Sports,” said Sky Sports head of football Gary Hughes.
“The Ping An Chinese Super League is attracting players from Europe and is creating a really exciting competition that will only add to an incredible line-up of live football on Sky Sports.”
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